


Start Young

by ShadowmanePX41



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adorable, Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Cute, Cute Kids, De-Aged Character(s), My First Work in This Fandom, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:55:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 46,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23544253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowmanePX41/pseuds/ShadowmanePX41
Summary: Ruby and Yang are super-excited to be going to their new pre-school together. As are many of the other children in their little town. Together, they'll have fun, take each day as it comes, and learn to bond over the little things in life. Come and step into this new world, where Team RWBY, Team JNPY, and Team CFVY—Oh, and Penny too—are smol; where they'll learn and play together, and enjoy their lives.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee, Coco Adel/Fox Alistair/Yatsuhashi Daichi/Velvet Scarlatina, Coco Adel/Velvet Scarlatina, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose, Qrow Branwen/Ozpin, Ruby Rose/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 29
Kudos: 44





	1. New Pre-School

"Ruby! Ruby! Wake up!" An excitable Yang Xiao Long shook her little sister, Ruby Rose as she slept delicately in her bed. "Today's the day! Today's the day!"

"Nngh... No. Come back, candy fairy..." Ruby moaned as she was beginning to be pulled from her little dreamland realm. She didn't want to wake up, no matter how hard Yang tried to wake her up. She had been so happy in her dream that she didn't even realise that today was the day that she and her sister, Yang, were about to have their first day in pre-school.

Yang and Ruby's room was very childish, with toys, drawings, and other children's stuff still scattered around from the day before. It was also painted half red and half yellow. The red side denoted Ruby's side of the room, while the yellow side was Yang's. Not that either of them minded stepping onto their sister's territory. It was all in the name of good fun with the two of them. Ruby was three years old, but Yang was three and a half. Yang loved the fact that despite how little she was, she was the big sister out of the two of them. But even then, she was still very young, and knew next to nothing about being all-grown up. Often at times, she would have to rely on the words of mommy, daddy, and Uncle Qrow.

Suddenly, Yang had an idea of how she'd wake up her sister. She took a few steps backwards and limbered up. And just like that, she started to run for Ruby's bed. "Wakey-wakey, eggs and bakey!" Yang leapt for the bed, landing on top of Ruby. Yang tumbled over the other side of the bed, while the impact was enough for Ruby's eyes to shoot wide open from the shock something large bumping into her.

"Wh-wha?!" Ruby spluttered as she was completely yanked from her dreams and brought back to reality. She looked around in a panic to see what had woken her up, only to find her little sister, Yang, in a mangle by her side; yellow footed pajamas with a burning heart polka fashion and all. "Oh. Good morning, Yang," she said.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Yang skittered over Ruby's body like a puppy would and fell back onto the ground. "First day of pre-school today! Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Yang grabbed the covers of the bed and ripped it off of Ruby, while simultaneously burying herself in them. She fumbled around and finally broke out of the messy mound of bedding and saw that Ruby too was in her footed pajamas, only hers were red with what looked like a rose polka pattern running all around it.

"Oh, right! Silly me, I forgot." Ruby finally got out of her bed and helped Yang out of the covers that had once blanketed her. Then, as best as she could, she put the covers back on the bed, only they were not neatly folded at all. Not that Ruby even knew what folding even was, bless her heart, she still tried to make it seem like her bed hadn't been used.

"Hurry up! Hurry up! I wanna be there as fast as I can!" Yang grabbed Ruby's hands and pulled her towards the door. Only, neither of them could get out. The door was too tall, and the two of them were too tiny, so neither of them could've reached the handle and walked out. "Hmm..." Yang examined the door, then got a great idea. "Ruby? Ya know what time it is?"

"No?" Ruby shrugged as Yang ran around behind her.

"Piggyback time!" Yang declared as she climbed onto Ruby's shoulders and leaned forward, causing Ruby to stumble her way to the door.

"Wh-whoa!" Ruby cried as Yang tried to drive her towards the door. With the weight of her big sister weighing down on her and her balance not really that great yet, Ruby could only just move whatever way that Yang wanted her to move. Ruby finally planted her face on the door as Yang reached with her stubby little arms for the door handle.

"Yes!" Yang finally grabbed it and held it tight as Ruby wobbled onto her butt. The handle finally fell, and Yang hung daintily like a chubby ball on a rope as the door creaked open ever so slightly. That was when Yang fell off and landed on her butt, then crawled over towards the now open door and pulled it open wide for her and Ruby to leave. "Follow me, Ruby!"

"Okay, Yang!" Ruby scurried down the hallways with Yang as fast as her tiny little legs could carry her. Which, for her and Yang, made the run seem much longer than it actually was. It didn't take long before both her and Yang were stopped by someone. Someone that she and Yang knew all too well. With his jagged hair, bristles on his chin, a slumped-over back, somewhat messy clothes, and a smile in his eyes, it was none other than her Uncle Qrow. "Morning, Unncle Qrow!" Ruby was first to say it.

Qrow squatted down to Ruby's height. "Hey, kiddo," he said, his voice still as rugged as it always was as he tousled Ruby's hair, then did the same with Yang's. "Sleep well last night?" He asked as he picked both Ruby and Yang up and held them gently in his arms.

"Mmhmm." Ruby nodded gently as she shot a small glare at Yang. "But Yang woke me up when I met the candy fairy..."

"Because you can't sleep through a pre-school day, Ruby," Yang replied.

"Yes I can!" Ruby whined and flailed her arms, still upset that she had been deprived of her dream sweets.

Qrow had seen some things in his life, but seeing Ruby and Yang being like this was enough to lift his spirits every time. Even if the worst were to come to the worst and he were to fall on the hardest of times, as long as he had Ruby and Yang by his side, he could at least bear to see the next day. "Well, kid, I'm sure that there's a lot more things out there than some candy fairy." he smirked. "In the meantime, you two need to get dressed. Can't exactly go to pre-school dressed in your pajamas now, can you?"

"What? Why not?" Ruby tilted her head at Qrow. "Pajamas are so comfy. It's like I'm being hugged."

"Yeah, but pre-school kids don't exactly wear them. It's too... how shall I put it?" Qrow asked himself. They were still kids, so they'd buy any excuse he gave them at that point. "Y'know what, never mind. It's too hard to explain. And it'd make you both upset."

"Upset? Why?" Yang asked.

"Geez... you ask a lot of questions, don't ya?" Qrow replied as he looked into Yang's eyes. "Well, there's a rule in the outside world that we never wear anything other than daytime clothes, right?"

"Mmhmm?" Ruby and Yang nodded together as Qrow finally brought them back to their room.

"That rule's enforced by the Pajama Police. Bunch of people who catch little kids like you for wearing your PJs in the outside world," Qrow cringed internally. This was the weakest, flimsiest excuse he could've thought of. They were just kids. They'd just break his rule no matter what he said. "Plus, your mom and dad spent a lot of money on those clothes. They'd be sad to hear that you don't wanna wear 'em and just want your PJs on all day."

"I don't wanna make mommy and daddy sad..." Ruby's eyes bulged wide. Then, she looked into Qrow's eyes. "Uncle Qrow? Can we change clothes?"

"Sure." Qrow was amazed that he had managed to salvage that conversation, and he put both Ruby and Yang down on the floor of their room, then fiddled around in their closets for their clothes. He managed to pull out a red skirt and black trousers for Ruby, and a yellow skirt with grey trousers for Yang. He laid both sets of clothes out and took Ruby and Yang's pajamas off, revealing their barenaked bodies. Wanting to try his best not to look devious, Qrow stuffed both of the kids into their clothes, covering their shame—Or lack thereof, in their case. "There ya go, kids. Now, you look much better.

Ruby looked down at her now fully-dressed self. Her typical red skirt that frilled around the waist as if she were wearing a ballerina's tutu complimenting her black trousers was always a sight that put a smile on her face. And just to prove it, she did a slow twirl on the spot, making her tutu-esque skirt shake and wave all the while. Yang wasn't as twirly as Ruby was, and just grinned at her now-dressed self, putting her hand on her hip. But now that the two girls were dressed, they both ran to Uncle Qrow's legs and gave them a big hug.

"Thanks, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby beamed from cheek to cheek as she nuzzled her uncle's leg.

"Yeah, thankies, Uncle Qrow!" Yang added to the complimenting.

"You're welcome, kids." Qrow tousled both of the kids' hairstyles, then took them both back into his arms. "For now, I think it's time that you get yourself ready for the day. Don't ya think? Can't exactly have you go out into the world without doing your morning stuff."

The rest of the day didn't have anything much special going on. Qrow took Ruby and Yang to the bathroom and made sure that they were all ready for the day. Inbetween brushing their teeth, washing their armpits, and then their little potty breaks—or kiddk toilets as Yang liked to call them—nothing much was different for Qrow. It was all just another day in the life of raising a couple of three year-olds. Still, who was he to complain? He had already had his childhood long ago, and now all that he could do was look after his kids the best that he could. It was the least that anyone could have asked of him as an uncle, and especially since it was gonna be the kids' first day at pre-school. So many different potential outcomes raced around in Qrow's mind about how this was gonna play out, and he wasn't gonna be responsible for anything that Ruby and Yang did there. And he KNEW just how rambunctious and hard to control Ruby and Yang were. He just had to pray that they'd play nice with the new kids there.

Ruby and Yang had a lot of things to think about as little kids. Mostly about playing games and keeping themselves happy. And for the most part, it worked. They had met every single day with a smile on their face and there were tons of potential avenues they took to entertain themselves. Mostly because they had been cared for by a loving mother and father. But now, they were going to a pre-school together, and they were gonna meet some new kids their age; kids that they had no clue about. A part of them was nervous about their new class, but another half of them was also very curious about it and interested to see how the rest of it would pan out. For now, all they could do was take the day as it came and deal with things as they happened.

* * *

Ruby and Yang got their backpacks—Ruby's pink, and Yang's white—, both said goodbye to their parents and walked with Qrow through the city of Beacon. With its' labyrinthian design and cobblestone pathways, it was the perfect city for those who liked city life, but would've been overwhelmed by something like Atlas, where the sheer scale and magnitude left a lot of wanting. It was more of the peaceful kind of town. And, luckily for it, it just so happened to be the home of the Beacon Huntsman Academy, where grown-up men and women would enroll to become full fledged Huntsman and Huntresses; the super-soldiers of Remnant as some like to call 'em. Qrow was lucky enough that both Ruby and Yang were way too young for his age. The last thing that he wanted was to put the two of them in danger given his track record. Qrow was always a magnet for bad luck, but it wouldn't be fair if other people around him had to suffer that as well.

"Uncle Qrow? Why is everything so tall?" Ruby asked curiously as she looked to the sky. With how small she looked and how tall the walls of Beacon were, it made her feel even smaller than she already was.

"Eh, it's not so tall, Ruby. You're just small. That's what it is," Qrow remarked. "Trust me. When you get to my age, it's all gonna look so much smaller."

"But you're small too, Uncle Qrow. You're not as big as these things," said Yang, pointing out that, indeed, Qrow was not as tall as the walls that surrounded him, her, and Ruby.

"When I say smaller, I don't mean that you're gonna grow bigger than these walls. Not unless something really bad happens, that is." Qrow just folded his arms. "See, Yang, these things are made to be tall because people have lives. They can't just live in small houses; especially not when there are some families with lots of members in 'em. And everyone needs their own private place. You and Ruby are lucky that your room's the same."

"Yeah. We can be alone together, Yang!" Ruby nodded, without even realising that alone meant without her sister.

"Heh. If only you two knew..." Qrow muttered to himself.

It took a bit of a walk, but at long last, Qrow, Ruby, and Yang arrived at a quaint little building that had a sign on the door reading "Flying Start Pre-school." Qrow had seen this place a few times. Usually, he just passed it off because it didn't even matter to him. But now, because Ruby and Yang were old enough, this was the first time that he—and they, but that was beside the point—was going inside. He opened the door and strolled inside, leading both Ruby and Yang inside shortly afterwards.

The lobby didn't leave much to the imagination. Just your typical everyday reception with a bunch of doors down the corridors off to the side. Usually, people were only allowed back there if they were staff, kids, or people dropping their kids off. There were some chairs and reading material for the grown-ups that waited, as well as some of those rail-toys with beads on them like you'd usually see in hospitals and dentists to keep the little ones entertained. And, entertain it did, as it wasted no time in commanding Ruby and Yang's attention. Qrow didn't even need to wait for them to ask, as he just let them go off to it as he went to the woman at the reception, typing away at a machine. Most likely a computer that she purchased from Atlas, given that they held the monopoly on machinery and technology these days, Qrow thought.

"Oh, hi. Can I help you with something?" The woman sitting at the reception desk asked, looking up from her computer. She had ginger hair tied into a bun and wore a simple olive green shirt.

"Yeah, hi. I've got Ruby and Yang here." He looked back at the two of them, who were very engrossed in the coloured rails and beads, wiling away the time by just sliding them across. "It's their first day here, apparently. Can you go ahead and let Oz know that they're here?"

"Oz?" The woman blinked for a second, then remembered what Qrow had been talking about. "Oh! You mean Ozpin, don't you? Right, right. Sorry about that. I'll get right on that." She went for a device that looked like a phone and typed in a number. A few dial tones later, she established a connection with the person on the other side. "Yes, hello? Ozpin? I have someone here that wants to let you know that Ruby and Yang are here. Should I send them through?"

"Of course. Most likely Qrow brought them here," the voice on the other side of the line remarked, sighing contently. "Let them pass."

"Alright." The woman hung up, then turned her gaze back to Qrow. "You can go through now, mister."

"Ruby, Yang, C'mon." Qrow turned back to the two of them just before they were about to begin a dispute over who got ownership of the rails and their many beads. He laid his hands on both of their shoulders, which commanded their full attention. "We've been given the all clear. It's time to see your new friends. At least, _I hope_ you make 'em your friends."

"Okay." Ruby walked with Qrow, while also shooting a small glare at Yang that, in toddler terms meant _we'll settle this later_.

Yang didn't say anything, but she too took a second to reciprotate Ruby's glare with one of her own.

It didn't take long for Qrow to walk down the hallways, and truth be told, it felt like nothing at all to him. The walls were all a single shade of aqua blue, with white flooring and ceiling, with some sketches and pictures around to break up the monotomy. If it wasn't for all of that, he would've just found this as bland as any of Atlas's many military corridors. But even then, it wasn't his kind of thing. Not by a long shot. But at least it was enough to keep Ruby and Yang excited and invested. It got to halfway when Qrow had to outright put Ruby and Yang on his shoulders just because they wanted to see everything on the walls. Better that than them nagging and whining all the time. He loved 'em to be fair, but Qrow and children usually didn't go well together. He was glad that he was leaving them in Ozpin's hands for the day. Would give him some peace and quiet back home. When they finally made it to the door, Qrow effortlessly pushed down the handle and opened the door wide, putting both Ruby and Yang's attempt to shame.

* * *

The room that Ruby and Yang would be spending their pre-school days in was expansive, to say the least. A large room, almost the size of a dance class training room with rounded, curvy walls made up the room, each one painted a different colour and some with even more drawings, sketches, and more. Qrow could also see that there were multiple areas of the room, with each one being named. All cutesy and alliterative titles like "Play Place", "Art Area", "Story Square" and "Sleep Spot." There was also a door leading outside towards a playground, with some more things to entertain the kids out there. First, Qrow let Ruby and Yang down to the ground, so that the two of them could leave their bags behind in colourful cubbies until they either needed something from them, or went back home. After which, he let them scurry off to see the other children, while his gaze was fixated solely on an old friend of his.

Ruby and Yang were taken in by the entire room that neither of them could make words anymore. They were far too enthralled by the bright, welcoming spectrum of the toys, walls, soft floor, and even the sight of many of their new classmates were breathtaking. There were kids in white, kids in green, kids in gold, even one in brown. All of the ways that they were dressed was a feast for their little eyes, and they couldn't wait to get started. So, as Uncle Qrow went off to talk to the other two big people in the room, both Ruby and Yang made their way over towards the kids.

"Good morning, Qrow," said Ozpin, who was revealed to have silver hair in a bushy hairstyle, a pair of translucent, small-lens glasses on his face, a green scarf around his neck, and a black, buttoned shirt. His trousers were dark green and he had a pair of black shoes on.

"Morning, Oz." Qrow rubbed the back of his head. He wasn't one for small talk. "So, this count as that favour I owe you?"

"Well, that depends," Ozpin was the first out of them to turn his gaze to Ruby and Yang. "We'll see how things play out, then I'll decide the rest."

"You know I never really liked how cryptic you can be, Oz. Just say yes or no every once in a while." Qrow spluttered, folding his arms. "It's not that hard, is it?"

Ozpin could only chuckle at Qrow's remark. "Oh, Qrow. There's so much more to life than just yes and no answers. And there's _far more than meets the eye with people_ ; especially the youth." He turned back to Qrow. "Trust me, old friend, I'm far more lenient than you might think. I consider this more of a blessing rather than a favour, if anything."

"That why you decided to take this job, then?" Qrow asked as he looked around the room. To be fair, it was very well-equipped to handle children. There was more than enough for each of the children, but then again, Qrow didn't have much knowledge on them. He just knew that people had them and that they could be controlled pretty easily with the right words and things. "If I didn't know you any better, I'd say that you were underselling yourself big time."

"It's only underselling if you don't enjoy the work or don't fit into the puzzle. I'd like to think I'm perfectly fine here," said Ozpin, patting the back of the woman by his side. "Glynda's been a big help too. Were it not for her and her methods of childcare, I would have definitely been out of place."

"Yes. In this kind of world, it's much happier to know that the work you're doing brings smiles to people. It shows how much people care about you and the things that you do." Glynda was a blonde woman with her hair tied up into a braid by her right-hand side. She also had a pair of glasses, but they were very thin and the lens was transparent. She had a white, long-sleeved, pleated top with a keyhole neckline and gauntlet cuffs that had flared up at the wrists. She also had a high-waisted, black pencil skirt with bronze buttons, and also wore a pair of black-brown stockings that burrowed themselves into black boots with bronze heels. She heard a whine coming from one of the areas, and saw that there were a pair of children who were fighting over a ball. Both dressed in white, but one with orange hair while the other had pure white hair. "Hang on, I'll be right back." And she went over to handle the issue, leaving Qrow and Ozpin to themselves.

Qrow and Ozpin could only watch as Glynda, sternly, but also fairly intervened in the argument by firstly snatching the ball away, then having a talk with both of the children in ways that they would understand. The two of them could only watch as she handled the issue like a true peacekeeper, listening as both of the children put forward their answers as to why they should have it. After which, she simply put forth an answer that would have benefitted both parties. By the time she had ended her discussion, the children were both smiling again as she handed the ball back to the orange-haired girl and returned to Ozpin and Qrow.

"Sorry about that. Anyways, as I was saying. You can be a Huntsman or Huntress, but what does it mean when you don't get to see the gratitude of the people that you work so hard for?" She said. "Sometimes, that can sour people away from that kind of work; never seeing people thank you for it. That's why I decided to get a job here with Ozpin. Now, I can work for these kids, and they always have nothing but smiles to give back. Warms the heart, really."

"I can get that." Qrow might've been, well, Qrow, but he knew what both Oz and Glynda meant. "If it makes the two of you happy, then why should I try to fight it? This is the kind of stuff that you just don't fight if you think it's right."

"You know, you're welcome to stay for a while, Qrow. I'm sure that these kids would like it," offered Glynda, kindly.

"As much as I'd like to take you up on that, their parents would have my head if I didn't look after the house," Qrow said. "Bless their souls. They're awfully busy, y'know. Between their work, Ruby and Yang, and my stuff, they don't get much time to themselves. That's why I'm there; to fill in the gaps where they can't do it. I am, however, gonna say goodbye to my girls for the day, if you'll let me."

"Sure. Take all the time you need, Qrow," Ozpin stepped to the side and let Qrow see Ruby and Yang again, who were already trying to speak with some of the other preschoolers.

Qrow took his time to walk over past the children, eyeing up exactly who was there for Ruby and Yang to play with. Straight away, he could already see a girl dressed in black with a black bow on the top of her black hair, that girl in all white from before who was now playing with the other girl, who he could now see also wore a pink skirt like Ruby and Yang's. Qrow could also make out a few boys there. One was blonde with white and gold clothing, the other black-haired with a pink stripe running through it who had green clothes. Then, another boy in green, but with all-black hair and a slightly darker skin tone. The last boy that he saw had red hair, but had brown skin and brown clothes on.

All of the rest of them were girls. The next girls he frisked were all talking to each other about things. One had grey clothes but also wore a beret—fashion choice, he assumed—, the second was in brown clothes and had brown hair, but also a pair of bunny ears—Which immediately screamed Faunus to him. Qrow was relieved to see that she was being accepted in this community rather than the one he knew—to go with it. The last girl had orange hair, but a comically oversized pink bow in it, as well as a light-green dress.

At last, his sizing up of the children done, Qrow made it to Ruby and Yang, who were trying to see what the rest of the place looked like, while also semi-squabbling over the door's window. He turned the both of them around and knelt down to their height. "Well, kids? Ya like what you see so far?"

"Yes, Uncle Qrow! I love, love, love, love it!" Yang's smile spread across her whole face as she bounded on the spot. "Can I stay here forever? Please, please, please, please, please?"

"I bet you'd like that, but I'm not sure that mom or dad would," Qrow smirked again. Whenever Yang got excited, it would've taken a miracle to dissuade her unless you knew exactly how to get her back down to earth. "Ruby? What do you think?"

"It's big," said Ruby, as she looked past his legs at everyone else around him. "All the kids, so many toys, books, everything. It's like our room but twenty bajillion times bigger." It wasn't exactly that big, but Ruby did like to think that way. If only she knew how big twenty bajillion really was.

"But is it good? Do you like it?" Qrow asked.

"I..." Ruby took some time to think about it. This was the first time that she had ever been in a room this big in her life, not counting her house's rooms. There was so much space for her and the other children to play around in, and there never seemed like there'd be a time where they were cramped together like sardines. And there was the playground just outside that she hadn't even seen yet. "I do, Uncle Qrow." She finally gave a gentle nod and grinned.

"Good to hear it," he said. "Now, you've got everything you need. Food's in your bags. And Oz and Glynda are gonna take good care of you while you're here. So treat 'em nicely, okay? That means no trying to play wrestling with them, Yang. Or any of the kids for that matter."

"Aww... Not even _super-gentle wrestling?_ " Yang tilted her head.

"There's plenty more things you can do than just wrestle, y'know. Have a look around. See what makes you tick, and then lose yourself in it. That'll pass the time," Qrow gave his resounding advice. "And these kids? They're just like you, whether they're human, Faunus, or otherwise. Don't go trying to think that because they're different, that's bad. You're all kids, you're all young, so you've all gotta learn to behave and treat each other nicely."

"Okay, Uncle Qrow," said both Ruby and Yang together.

"Good." Qrow tousled their heads one last time, then turned towards the door, leaving them behind. "I'll be back when the day's over. In the meantime, you do you, girls." He waved Ozpin and Glynda goodbye, then left the room behind, leaving Ruby and Yang with their new class and teachers.

But before either of them could make the move, Glynda's voice cut through the class. "Alright, everyone. Let's all come together. It's time to say hello to each other." She watched as the little ones all raised their heads to her like meerkats in the desert. "Come on now, everyone gather around me and Ozpin. Don't be shy now," And as she spoke, magically, the kids all drew themselves towards Glynda and Oz, then sat down as she made a pushing-down motion with her hand. Even Ruby and Yang found themselves walking over to the congregation, taking their places as well.

"Here we go, Ruby..." Yang whispered to Ruby as she sat next to her. It was time for their first day of pre-school to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now. Something I want to say about this story is that there's not really a plot behind it. It's just the thirteen kids enjoying pre-school life together. It's a nice, calm, relaxing, happiness-provoking cuteness-fest. Which, given RWBY's direction nowadays with the end of Volume 7, is what we really need to bring some happiness back to the world of Remnant.
> 
> So come along with my and all of your other friends. Let's take this walk together. And at the end of it all, if I've made you all swoon with delight, then that's the best that anyone could ask for.


	2. Say Hi, Everyone!

Ozpin waited patiently for all thirteen of the children to sit down in a semi-circle pattern. Then, once all of them were sat down, he cleared his throat and began. "Hello, everyone. My name is Ozpin. But you can call me Oz. Or even Ozzie if you want. Whatever you think works the best," he said. "Welcome to your first day here at your new pre-school. I'm sure that you'll have a wonderful time here either playing by yourself, or with all of your new classmates. You might even call them your friends afterwards."

"If any of you need anything else, then don't feel afraid to speak to Oz or me," said Glynda, taking over for Ozpin. "My name is Glynda. I'll be watching over all of you to make sure you're all playing nicely and none of you are getting yourselves into trouble." She saw that Yang had raised her hand. "Yes? What is it, little one?" She asked.

"Uh, when can we play?" Yang asked, already beginning to sound a little curious.

"We can play as soon as we say hello to each other. It's very important that little kids like you get to know each other. That way, you can learn together, play with each other, and feel like you're not alone here." Glynda answered for Yang. "First, whenever we start a day at pre-school, we always say hello to each other. So, why don't you start? Simply come up to me, turn to face the rest of the class, and say your name." Glynda made an arm gesture, beckoning Yang to come over.

Sure enough, Yang followed along, shuffling just out of the semi-circle formation. She stopped at Glynda and Ozpin's feet, then turned to the rest of the class. All twelve of the other pre-school kids, male and female alike were looking back at her. She just beamed back at them. "Hello! My name is Yang!" She waved energetically.

"Everyone, say 'hi, Yang!'" Glynda encouraged with a happy voice.

"Hi, Yang!" The twelve other pre-school kids all responded in perfect unison, like they were speaking as one.

"Very good!" Glynda knelt down, then pet Yang on the shoulders. "Now, Yang, tell everyone something that you like to do."

"Well, I have a little sister! Her name is Ruby!" Yang pointed Ruby out, which made her jump. "I play lots and lots with her when I'm at home, and she loves to play with me too!"

"Well, isn't that sweet?" Ozpin remarked as he looked into Ruby's eyes. She could only watch with curiosity as he moved his arms in a welcoming motion. "Well, Ruby? Since you and Yang are already acquainted, why don't you come up here and join your sister?" As he spoke, Ruby was already moving in to join Yang's side. "Everyone, say 'Hi, Ruby.'"

"Hi, Ruby!" The children all chimed in again, minus Yang.

Ruby blushed at both of her cheeks. She felt embarrassed on her first day. She looked at Yang and held her hand, cuddling up close to her to try and get through this. She hadn't been expecting to be called up out of the gate; let alone with her sister, Yang. This completely out of the ordinary.

"Ozzie! Ruby's got red cheeks!" An orange-haired girl pointed out, sticking her finger towards Ruby's blush. "What does it mean?"

"It simply means that Ruby's a little bit nervous about this whole thing. But that's alright," Ozpin pat Ruby on the back and watched closely as she held onto Yang. "It can be quite scary on your first day to be called up like this, but I promise you that everything out there; all the mean people and nasty things going on in the outside world, they can't ever touch you here. You're perfectly safe in our care." Ozpin watched as Ruby loosened up and turned to face the children.

"Go on, Ruby. Tell everyone something that you like doing," whispered Yang, playfully nudging her on the arm.

"I, uh... like to..." Ruby couldn't even think of one thing to say. She knew that Yang had already said her one thing that she liked to play with, but the dilemma that Ruby was facing was taht she was a tad nervous about speaking to the audience, but also that she had to list one thing out of everything that she liked doing. "I can't decide on what I like, Ozzie and Glynda! I just can't!"

"It's alright, Ruby. That's perfectly natural as well. It just means that you enjoy a lot of things." Glynda squatted down and looked Ruby in the eyes. "That kind of personality is perfect for pre-school. There'll be plenty of things here to do for you and your sister. I'm sure of it."

"Thank you, Glynda." Ruby blinked at the big woman standing before her.

"Well, children. These are your classmates; Yang and Ruby. I'm sure that you'll all get along with them just fine," said Ozpin as he gave both of the kids another pat on the back. "Now then, you two. Go back to where you were sitting. It's time for someone else to say hello to everyone."

"Okie-dokie!" Yang said, as she and Ruby skittered back to their places and sat down once more. "That was fun, wasn't it, sis?"

"Y-yeah, fun." Ruby chuckled very lightly, but deep down, she was relieved that she didn't have to do that for long. Now, she could just sit back and say hello to everyone else without feeling pressured.

"Alright then. Who wants to introduce themselves next?" Ozpin asked, and as soon as he finished, a bunch of children raised their hands into the air and wiggled them around. Ozpin looked at all of the children very closely and made his decision. "You. Since you seem the most eager out of everyone." He pointed towards the orange-haired girl and watched as she came to the front.

Now that all of the children could see her clearly, they could see that their next classmate was wearing a white shirt and a pink dress, with pink pants to go with it all. A small heart was on her shirt and she looked very happy to be up there, much like Yang did. The biggest smile on her face, she said "Hi! I'm Nora!" And she waved her hand so fast that it looked like a blur.

"Hi, Nora!" Everyone replied before Ozpin or Glynda could even get the chance to speak.

"Do you have anything that you like in particular, Nora?" Glynda asked, her knees once more bending so that she could come down to Nora's height.

"Yes, Glyndie! I do" Nora nodded. "I like balls, blocks, toys, tag, hide-and-seek, bouncing, running, jumping, talking, climbing, singing, everything!" Nora spoke all in one breath. Once she was done, she took a deep breath and looked at the other kids. "And I like new friends!"

The other children all chattered among themselves as they 'ooooh'ed in awe at Nora. They could already tell from her hyperactivity and her love for practically everything that she was the most fun-loving out of all of them. Already, most of them were thinking about what they could play with her that she'd like doing.

Ozpin just chuckled. "You've come to the perfect place then, Nora. Here, you can do whatever you want and I'm sure that there'll be children who want to play with you. Now, you can enjoy all of the things that you love doing together." He gave her a pat on the back and let her scamper back to her place in the semi-circle formation. "Everyone, that's Nora. I hope you be kind to her and let her play along with you."

"So. Yang, Ruby, and Nora. That's three. Now, who wants to be the next one to say hello?" Glynda asked, and once more, the kids raised their hands into the air. And then, Glynda made her choice. "How about... you?" She pointed out a girl with white hair and white clothes. And as she came to the ground, she looked almost proper in how she did it, making sure not to push through the other kids. "So, little one, what's your name?"

"Hello." She politely waved her hand to the other kids in the room. "My name is Weiss."

"Hi, Weiss!" The others met her polite behaviour with another collective greeting.

"So, Weiss. Is there anything special that you like doing? Go ahead and share it with the rest of us," Ozpin encouraged, as he finally sat down. Better that than damage his knees bending them each time.

"Well, I like making things. My brother, my big sister, my mommy and daddy love it whenever I do," Weiss explained. "Mostly Winter and mommy, though." She twiddled her tiny fingers.

"What kind of things, Weiss?" Glynda asked.

"Paper thingies," said Weiss, eyeing up the Art Area that had been laid out for her, "I can make some really good snow! Wanna see?"

"We'll see soon enough, Weiss. I think you're a little girl who likes her arts and crafts," Ozpin tousled her hair, which caused her to instinctively raise her hands to protect it. Ozpin drew back his hand.

"Be careful with my hair, Ozzie. Mommy and daddy say it's special," Weiss looked at Ozpin with wide-eyes, almost like saucers. "Please don't make my hair messy."

"I won't, Weiss." Ozpin pushed his hands out defensively. "Still, you can create whatever you want whenever you want. And when it comes to art time for everyone, I'm sure you'll blow us all away with what you can make."

"Thanks." Weiss could only smile at Ozpin's compliment and bow before him.

"No problem. Now, you head on back and take your place again. There's still quite a lot of little ones that we need to say hello to today," Ozpin gave Weiss the signal, and once he stopped, Weiss gave a little nod and—as politely as she did when she was going to the front—went back to her place in the crowd of kids.

"Me next! Me next!" Another one of the kids shot her arm into the air. By now, she knew what to do.

"Sounds like someone's really eager to say hi, aren't they? Well, why don't you come on over?" Glynda invited the girl over. She wore a beret, had brown hair, and grey clothes.

"Hi there!" The girl waved, then caught her beret as it was about to fall off of her head. "I'm Coco!"

"Hi, Coco!" All of the kids spoke again, once more showing off how hive-minded they were when it came to greeting other kids.

"Anything special that you like, Coco?" Ozpin asked, looking down on Coco's miniature body.

"Yes, Ozzie. I have this!" Coco took her beret off and showed it to the class. Each one had a moment so that they could properly see it. Then, when they were all done looking at it, she put it back on her head. "It's my special hat. Mommy and daddy gave it to me after their vacation. I love my special hat so much."

"It does define you, Coco. All the more reason for you to keep on wearing it," said Ozpin. "Now, the kids are definitely going to know that it's you from the hat alone."

"Mmhmm! Mommy always said that this hat helps me stand out." Coco nodded back to Ozpin.

"You definitely stand out here, Coco. And I'm sure that when you play, everyone else is going to know it's you." Glynda pat Coco gently once on the back, which then prompted her to toddle back to where she had been sitting in the formation of children. "Now, who's the next little one who wants to say hello?"

There were less and less hands being raised now. One belonging to a boy with red hair and dark brown skin and the other belonging to the girl with bunny ears. Ozpin had to choose between the two of them and—deciding from his heart and also because it would be a good lesson to teach the kids from such a young age—chose the bunny-ear girl eventually. "Why don't you come up next?"

"M-me?" She asked, putting her hand to her chest.

"Yes. Come on, now. There's no need to feel shy here." Ozpin watched as the other kids made some room for the girl to move past.

"O-okay then." The bunny-eared girl crawled through the kids, then stood delicately before them; like a very mild-mannered toddler Faunus would. "H-hello there." She waved, looking at all of the human kids. She seemed the most out of place of all of them "My name is Velvet."

"Hi, Velvet!" They all greeted her with a wave and a smile; something that she wasn't used to. She slightly flinched at the sight, then recomposed herself.

"You seem a little bit frightened, Velvet." Glynda noticed it straight away and knelt down to Velvet's height. Her eyes commanded Velvet's full attention and she no longer felt like the children's eyes were piercing into her soul. "Is there anything that you do to make yourself happy whenever these scary things happen to you?"

"Y-yes." Velvet nodded softly. "My mommy taught me a happy dance that I always do whenever these things happen." Velvet watched as Glynda gave her some space. Once again, the eyeballs of all of the human children were staring at her. But she knew that this was one of the only ways that she'd be able to overcome her anxiety. She took a deep breath and shook herself for a moment, then did her little dance. Mostly consisting of jumps and hops. "Hippity-hoppity bunny-boo! I've got a happy dance for you! Jump around, bouncing through the air! Then you shake your de-ri-ere!"

All of the children had been watching Velvet jump and bounce, and then when her dance came to an end, all that they could do was cheer for her. They had been very well-entertained by her antics. And when she finally turned back to face them again, she cracked a smile of her own as well.

"Well done, Velvet. Very well done indeed." Ozpin was clapping his hands, seeing how Velvet had gone from being nervous to fully enjoying herself. "That's just the kind of thing that you should do when things get scary. See it through with a smile and do your happy dance."

"Thanks, Ozzie." Velvet blushed at each of her cheeks.

"Now, before you go, I want to get everyone's attention." Ozpin announced to the other pre-school kids, who had all managed to pull themselves together to listen to Ozpin. "Take a look at Velvet's ears, everyone. She's a human with bunny ears. We call them Faunus, but you can just call her Velvet," he said, showing off the ears to everyone else. "Just because Velvet has these bunny ears, that doesn't mean she's any different from the rest of you. Here, we treat everyone with respect, whether they're human or Faunus. So I want to make sure you'll all be sure to treat Velvet very kindly while you're here, alright?"

"We promise. Don't we?" Weiss asked the other kids. They all just cooed, while nodding in agreement.

"See, Velvet? There's nothing left to fear here." Glynda smiled at her. "Now, off you go. Take your place back with the others, so we can let someone else say hi to the others."

"Thanks, Ozzie. Thanks, Glynda." Velvet went on her way back to the group. And once she sat down, she let out a sigh of relief. The hard part for her was over at last.

"I wanna be next! Me! Me! Me!" Another girl with orange hair, yet a large pink bow in it and green clothing called out, wriggling her tiny arm in the air.

"Well, go right ahead, then. Nobody's stopping you," Ozpin said, and watched the girl make her way around the others.

"Hi!" She sing-songed as she waved her hand to the other kids. "It's nice to meet you! My name's Penny."

"Hi, Penny!" Everyone said back to her.

"I like all kinds of things, but most of all, I like being with others. It's more fun when you play together than play alone," Penny innocently grinned as she looked at all of the kids. "I know that you'll all wanna play with me so much today."

"I'm sure that they will, Penny," remarked Ozpin. "Is there anything in particular that you like most of all out of everything here?"

"Hmm..." Penny looked around to see if there was anything that caught her eye. She saw every corner of the Play Place, Art Area, Story Square, and Sleep Spot. But her eyes settled on the door leading outside. "Oh! Well, I like to go outside a lot. There's so much space for us to be free and run around!"

"You'll have lots of time to play outside, Penny. I promise." Ozpin gave her a pat on the head. He couldn't have known it from how much flesh he felt, btu something in the back of his head sword that Penny's bones were much stronger than he had been anticipating. Not that he minded that. It just meant that she had a good bone structure. "Now, there are only a few children left. So, who wants to go next?"

As Ozpin let Penny go back to her place, there were only six children left. And of them, only two of them had their hands raised. Both of them had red hair, but one of them was a girl with a golden dress, and the other a boy with brown skin. Between the two of them, Ozpin picked out the girl and made a hand motion that served as the girl's invitation to come forward.

Once the girl made her way through the crowd, she cleared her throat and kept good eye-contact with the kids. "Hi, there! My name's Pyrrha," she said.

"Hi, Pyrrha!" Everyone tried their best to say it, and some even laughed silently with how her name sounded.

"Pyrrha, is it? Well, is there anything here in particular that you like to do when you're at home?" Glynda asked as she sat down with Pyrrha.

"Well, my mommy and daddy always read me stories. And I love those very much," Pyrrha nodded as she looked to the Story Square. "When do you think we'll have story time, Glynda? I wanna read something."

"It'll be a little while out, but you can feel free to read in your own time once everyone's done introducing themselves. But until then, you'll just have to wait a little bit, sweetie," Glynda told Pyrrha.

"Oh..." Pyrrha hung her head and looked to the ground for a moment; disappointed that she couldn't be read a story straight away. But eventually, she looekd back up and locked gazes with Glynda again. "Okay then."

"For now, though, Pyrrha, welcome to the pre-school. We're all delighted that you're here." Ozpin knelt down to Pyrrha's height and looked her in the eyes. "Now, go off and head back to your place, Pyrrha. It'll soon be time to let you and the other kids run free."

"Okay, Ozzie. Thank you." Pyrrha nodded and scuttled back to her place in the semi-circle of children.

"Now, I think you'll be the next one to come up, since you were also so eager." Ozpin's eyes were locked onto the red-haired boy with brown skin. "Come on, now. Say hello to everyone." He held his hand out and flicked his fingers towards his chest.

The boy fist-pumped and dashed through the crowd. "Hello, everyone! I'm Fox!" he said, slapping his hands together.

"Hi, Fox!" Everyone said to him.

"I like to run around a lot. I also like to play hide-and-seek. I'm pretty good at it, too," Fox boasted as he put his hand on his chest. "Mommy and daddy spent all day trying to find me one time, and they didn't find me until dinner time."

"I've also heard from your parents that you're an awfully devious little scamp, aren't you, Fox?" Glynda asked, leaning towards Fox. "Well, whatever you do to make yourself happy. Just as long as it doesn't end up being bad. I don't want you getting yourself into trouble, young man."

"I won't." Fox shook his head. "I'll be a good boy, Glyndie. I promise." He clasped his hands together.

"Good. That's all I ask." Glynda replied. "Well, Fox, we're almost done with saying hello to everyone, so you'll soon be able to run around all that you want and play your games of hide-and-seek. But for now, head on back and sit down, okay?"

"Okay." And like that, Fox went back into place.

"Only four children left. But... by the looks of things, I don't think they all want to say hi. They look awfully nervous." Glynda had noticed that each of the four remaining children were curled up. A black-haired girl with a black bow on the top of her head, a blonde boy with white clothes, a brown-skinned boy with olive green clothes, and a boy with black hair and a pink highlight running through the side of his hair. "If you want, you can all do this last introduction together. I promise that you'll be fine here."

Each of the unnamed children looked at each other and gave a nod, then one by one, they emerged from the semi-circle of children and made their way to the front, where Glynda and Ozpin laid their hands on their shoulders protectively. The kids looked at each other again and cracked the tiniest of grins to each other. At least they'd know that it was almost over and that they would be able to play however they wanted: Alone.

"One at a time, now. And you can just say your name if you want," said Glynda.

"H-hi." The first boy spoke up. He had the brown skin and green clothes. "I'm... Yatsu..." He tried to say the rest of his name, but he couldn't remember it.

"Hi, Yatsu!" The others called, which made him almost jump out of his skin. Then, they noticed how scared he looked and felt nervous themselves.

"Sorry." Yatsu looked down. "I'm not really scary. I just... don't like large crowds. I like tiny groups."

"Tiny groups? Me too." The second boy added. This one with blonde hair. Then, he turned to the other kids in the pre-school. "Hi there, I'm Jaune."

"Hi, Jaune!" said the other kids in the room.

"I, uh, like to be read bedtime stories," Jaune said, looking over to the Sleep Spot. "Glyndie? Before naptime, can you read me a story?"

"Of course, Jaune. That's what we do anyways. A story first, then sleep," Glynda replied, giving his hair a tousle.

"Thank you." Jaune nodded. "That makes me feel happy."

The next kid looked at Nora's eyes, and for some reason, it gave him some sliver of confidence. "H-hello..." He spoke up. "I'm Ren."

"Hi, Ren!" The kids reacted.

"Ozzie? What do we do for art?" Ren asked, his eyes focused on the Art Area nearby. "Is it just colouring? Or is there more?"

"There is more, but we'll help you out if you need it, Ren. Same for the rest of you. Don't feel afraid to ask us for some help." Ozpin pointed over towards the Art Area. "See those things on the high ledges? You can ask me or Glynda for them if you want them."

"Thank you." Ren smiled at last, looking towards the Art Area the whole time.

"Oh... It's me now?" The last girl asked, noticing that everyone else had all said their names and they were now known to everyone in the pre-school. "H-hi." She limply lifted her hand and flopped it a little; constituting a wave. "M-my name's Blake."

"Hi, Blake!" Everyone else pointed out.

"I like your bow." Ruby pointed out the bow on Blake's head.

"Th-thanks, Ruby. My mommy and daddy said it makes me special when I'm not at home." Blake pushed both sides of her bow, making sure that it was securely fastened on her head. "And I, uh... I like to be quiet." She nodded. "I can't wait for storytime, Glyndie."

"Well, I'm sure that you'll be able to pass the time, Blake. Now that everyone knows who everyone is, we'll all be sure to give you all of the time that you need," Glynda remarked as she gently patted the bow on Blake's hair. "Now, everyone, take your places. And I'll get started."

Now that everyone had taken their places, they all kept their eyes focused on Glynda and Ozpin. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren, Coco, Fox, Velvet, Yatsu, and Penny all watched as Glynda took out some little laminated squares with velcro on the back, while Ozpin wrote down words on the whiteboard so as to give some kind of schedule for the day. One by one, they kids all watched as the list appeared before them, with pictures accompanying each word. The list read "Hello, Playtime, Art Time, Outside Play, Lunch, Storytime, Naptime, Playtime, Home." Each word was coupled with laminated squares, which had pictures depicting each of the following activities.

"So, everyone. Now that you've all met yourselves, let me explain what you'll be doing today," Ozpin started as he stood by the board and pointed each little thing out. "First of all, we want to make sure that you feel comfortable and happy to be here, so the first session, everyone can play however they want. There are toys for your amusement, plenty of room for games, and you can draw pictures and read stories if you want. Nothing's gonna stop you." His hand drifted down one of the spaces. "After that, we'll all be going to the Art Area together to make something really nice. Something that I'm sure a lot of you will really enjoy."

"Once that's all said and done, we'll let you roam around outside for a bit. To get some fresh air and let you all run and enjoy the playground." Glynda stretched her arm out towards the door, which made everyone look towards it. "There, you'll find even more things to do and plenty of space." After that, she brought her arm back and pointed towards the Story Square. "After that, everyone will come back inside and I'll read you all a story in the Story Square. Then, you'll all have naptime here in the Sleep Spot. That way, you'll be able to get your energy back for one last playtime in the afternoon before all of your parents and other family members come to collect you," Glynda finished off at last. "If any of you have any questions, as I've said before, me and Ozpin will be here for you."

"The best thing about being a kid is your limitless imagination and happiness. Use that wisely and make yourself happy no matter what you do. After all, the happier you are, the better each day gets," Ozpin said, providing his words of wisdom to the children. "However you choose to play, whether it's all alone or with some of the other kids here, if it makes you happy, then that's perfect. And as long as you all play nicely and don't try to hurt anyone or do something dangerous, then you've got nothing to fear. Understand?" Ozpin watched each of the kids nodding one after the other at him. "And remember. We are all children here. Nothing outside matters. Just what happens here and now. And with that, you're free to play. Enjoy yourself, everyone!"

With a collective cheer of delight, each of the kids stood up and dispersed around the pre-school, each of them already finding their perfect places to be, or the right kids to play their games with. And all the while, Ozpin and Glynda just stood back and watched as the children all indulged themselves in their merriment. As the silence of the room was replaced with the clamouring chatter of pre-school kids doing pre-school things, it warmed both his heart and hers to see that the day had just begun. Now, all that he and Glynda could do was watch, wait, and assist if needs be. For everyone, the day had finally, truly begun.


	3. Let's Play!

With the children all dismissed to play, each of them started to take their own places around the pre-school. Yang, Nora, Ruby, Velvet, Fox, and Penny were over by the Play Place. Ren, Weiss, Coco, and Yatsu were over by the Art Area with pieces of paper and crayons already set out for them. That left Pyrrha, Jaune, and Blake with the books in the Story Square. Each of the little kids found themselves lost in their own little worlds of play, all of them making happy noises as they started to pick up some toys, get to work with making a picture, or opened the first books they got their little hands on. All the while, Ozpin and Glynda could only watch on like parents; ready to spring into action if something were to go wrong or someone needed some help with reaching something high up.

"Ruby! Ruby!" Yang called out, attracting Ruby's attention over. "Come here!" Yang beckoned Ruby over with an arm gesture. And sure enough, it worked, as Ruby was now slowly, but surely, making her way over towards her.

"What is it, Yang?" Ruby asked, looking at what Yang had been staring at earlier. "What have you found?"

"Look!" Yang pointed out that there was a makeshift fort that had been made out of many materials. There were large, cardboard walls that looked like they had been part of a box once, and on the inside, there were padded shapes that had been arranged to look like small little ramps leading to the upper parts of the fort, with a special little hidey-hole place for children their age to hide inside. Two children were already inside of the box/shape fort. Nora and Penny, who were both tucked away within that hole, giggling to themselves as they hid.

"A castle?" Ruby's eyes went wide as she finally registered what it was made to look like. "We never had a castle at home!"

"I know!" Yang giddily made her way inside. "C'mon! Let's go inside!" She called as she scuttled through the cardboard door.

Ruby just giggled as she too entered the mighty cardboard and foam fortress with Yang. This was new territory for both of them and they were excited to see what they could play within the confines of the fortress. Her first instinct was to try and climb to the top of the fortress and see what she could see from there, but then she also was drawn more towards the hole and the idea of some new friends to play with in Nora and Penny. Both options were very inviting, but in the end, Ruby went for the hidey hole as well to see Nora and Penny.

"Hi!" Ruby crawled inside, making sure not to hit her head on the top of the cardboard.

"Hi!" Both Penny and Nora replied back, giving her a smile and a wave.

"You're... Nora. And you're Penny. Right?" Ruby pointed to both of the kids one at a time.

"Yep!" Nora vigorously nodded. "And you're... Ruby?"

"Mmhmm." Ruby just politely nodded back.

"You have a really, really, REALLY fun sister, Ruby!" Nora was the first one to comment. "I wanna play with you and Yang SO much right now! I'm so happy that you wanted to come here!" She reached over and pulled Ruby into a sudden cuddle. "Oh, now we can play Queen of the Castle together!"

"Queen of the Castle?" Penny lifted a brow as she shuffled over towards Nora. "What's that?"

"It's a really fun game that I play when I'm at home." Nora let go of Ruby's body and turned to face Penny. "Let me show you how to play." And like that, she made her way out of the hidey hole and looked towards the ramps, where Yang was already at the top of the fort. "Oh! Hi, Yang!"

Yang heard the noise and looked down. She saw Ruby, Nora, and Penny there, waiting for her. "Hi!" She gave an innocent wave to the three of them. "What are you playing? And can I join in?"

"We're playing Queen of the Castle! And you're already at the top!" Nora explained, standing up straight at last with the other kids. They were just about able to see a little crack over the walls of the fort, but nothing else outside.

"Queen of the Castle?" Yang parroted. "What's that?"

"Well, first, you climb to the top of the castle like this." Nora scuttled over towards the other ramp in the fort and made her way to the highest point. Now that she was there, she could see the rest of the pre-school quite clearly. She could see down outside of the walls of the fort that Fox was playing around with what looked like a plush snake coiled around his body, and that Velvet was rolling a ball around with her hands, chasing after it whenever she pushed it out of reach. She could also see the kids in the Art Area and Story Square all indulging in their little things as well. "See? Now I'm at the top."

"What happens next?" Penny tilted her head.

"You say this:" Nora took a deep breath of air and proclaimed, "I'm Queen of the Castle! I'm Queen of the Castle!"

The other kids watched as Nora proudly stated her new title as the ever-so-popular queen of the castle and wanted to do the same. Ruby and Penny all made their way to the top, with Ruby making it there first, followed shortly by Penny. Once they got to the top, they were eager to delcare themselves as the queen of their castle, but it was then that they had noticed the view from the top of the box and simply couldn't ignore it. The way that the other kids were playing beneath them, the arts and crafts going on to the left of them, and the stories that the other kids were reading about in the Story Square were all in their view. And all of it looked like a real treat.

But then, before Ruby could drink in the sight any more, Penny turned to Nora, and then made her statement. "I'm Queen of the Castle! I'm Queen of the Castle!"

And that was enough to snap Ruby out of her sightseeing phase. She remember what the aim of the game was and wanted to play along with it again. "I'm Queen of the Castle! I'm Queen of the Castle!" she called out giggling.

"Mmhmm! Just like that!" Nora grinned from ear to ear. Then, she started to look around for something. "Oh! Oh! We need crowns! Queens always wear crowns!" As Nora surveyed the ground, she noticed something in the corner of her eyes. A large chest that was begging to be opened up. "Look at that!"

Yang looked over towards the chest that Nora had been looking at and also lifted a brow. "Think there's something in there, Nora?"

"Yep! And if we're lucky, there'll be some crowns in there for us!" Nora giddily bounced on the spot. But in her haste, she misjudged her landing and nearly fell off of the edge of the foam shape that she was on. If it wasn't for Ruby, Penny, and Yang catching her in time, she would have fallen off entirely. "Th-thanks." Her usual energetic nature had turned into, for that brief instance, a gnarled face of fear. One that quickly burned back into her peppy face after the other kids saved her. She slid on her butt down the slope and toddled out of the castle and to the box.

Ruby looked down at the slope and laughed as she went hurtling down it, legs first. She looked back up and saw Penny come down after her, followed by Yang. Flashing a smile, she went out of the fort and followed Nora towards the chest.

"Come on, come on! Let's see what's inside!" Nora beckoned the children as they all came to the chest at last. She tried her best to push the lid of the chest open, but it proved a challenge with just one pair of tiny hands. She made groaning noises as she tried her best to pry open the chest, even trying other methods of opening it like going around the back to pull it open, or even standing on top of the chest. But none of it proved fruitful. She started to gasp for breath, wheezing lightly. "Uh... Should we call for Ozzie and Glyndie?" Nora asked the others at last.

"Wait. Let's all try it together this time." Penny lifted a finger. "That chest is no match for all four of us working together, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. I say we should do it!" Yang did a fist pump as she looked at the box some more. "Come on, Nora. You, me, Ruby, and Penny all at the same time!"

"Yeah!" Ruby gave an eager nod. "Let's do it!" And she put her hands on the chest before anyone else could speak. "Help me push it open!"

"Okie-dokie!" Penny added, and she laid her hands on the chest as well.

"Come on, Nora! Let's do this together!" Yang said as she was the third child in the group to put her hands on the chest.

Nora's eyes widened with glee as she watched the other pre-school kids putting their hands on the chest to help her out. She was the last one out of the lot to contribute to the cause with her own pair of tiny hands on the chest. She let out some more determined groans as she pushed with all of her strength, as the other kids did the same. This time, the result was much better. The chest's lid actually moved with their combined strength. The kids pushed it as hard as they could so that the lid of the chest opened up and hung on the other side of it, revealing the contents to the four of them.

And there, inside of the chest, there it all lay. A menagerie of clothes and accessories. There were onesies themed on animals for the kids to stick themselves in, some hats for them to try on, and even some little tutus for the girls to put on if they so pleased. Ruby, Yang, Penny, and Nora all dug through the clothes to find something and, eventually, they struck gold. They pulled out some tiny, plastic crowns and held them high.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! This is perfect!" Nora looked at the way the crown shimmered in the light of the room. "Now we definitely can be Queen of the Castle!"

"Whoa..." Ruby looked at Yang and the other kids and what they had become now that the crowns were sitting delicately on their heads. "You all look _really pretty_! Even you, Penny! You look the best!"

"H-hey!" Yang blushed at the idea that Ruby found someone else prettier than she did.

"Thanks, Ruby." Penny gave a little giggle behind her closed lips and looked towards Nora. "Wanna go back to the castle, Nora?"

"Yep!" Nora nodded. "Let's go, go, go!" And like that, she sped away back to the realm of the fort.

The other crown-wearing girls could only clamour with excitement as they made their way back inside the fort. This time, they squatted down as low as their teeny bodies would let them, so that the crows didn't fall off of their heads. Then, they all made their way back up to the top and resumed their little game with delight; each one laying claim to the title of queen.

* * *

Over at the Art Area, Weiss was busy with something. With a sheet of paper all to herself and a whole box full of crayons ready for her to use, her mind was already brimming with possibilities as to what could be scrawled onto the sheet before her. But she wasn't the only one. To her left, Ren had already started with his drawing and Coco was still thinking about what she herself would create. And just on the other side of the table, there was Yatsu examining the many different colours that he had been left with to create his drawings. Not that Weiss minded any of this. They were the same as she was; kids. They were just like her, no matter where they all came from or what kind of families they all had. But it was only just the first day, so she couldn't tell what to make of them just yet.

"Weiss?" Coco spoke, pulling Weiss's attention away from the sheet of paper. "Do you have any pink crayons?" She asked, pushing her fingers together.

"Sure." Weiss reached into the box and pulled out a pink-coloured crayon, handing it over to Coco. One less colour for her to use, but still plenty that she could use to bring her vision to life. "Drawing anything pink?"

"Mmhmm!" Coco gave a nod as she looked down at the paper and started to write. "One day, me, mommy, and daddy all went to the farm together and we met some pigs. I wanna see if I can draw myself with playing with those piggies."

"Pigs?" Weiss looked over to see that Coco was already scribbling away with the pink crayon. She started with some pink circles and shaded them in with the tip of the pencil. Once they were filled in, Coco hummed a tune to herself as she drew little lines sticking out of the circles that constituted as feet. Another line was drawn for each one, only these next ones were curly and made a spiral-shape.

"Mommy told me that pigs get really, really dirty too. But the muck is just how they live," Coco added on as she took the brown crayon from the box and laid it down by the side of the paper in preparation. But before she could even think about bringing forth a very young artist's rendition of pig slop, she drew smaller pink circles next to the ones that she had already made. Only, those ones didn't get shaded in, and instead she drew a pair of ears, did some black dots for eyes, and made a round snout. "Did you ever see pigs before, Weiss?"

"Yes." Weiss nodded. "Mommy took me to a zoo a few days ago with Winter. We had a wonderful time there."

"Winter?" Coco turned away from her drawing for a second and blinked curiously at Weiss.

"She's my big sister. And she's a super-big sister!" Weiss threw her arms out as if to build a spectacle. "She's really, realy, REALLY big. Like Ozzie and Glynda over there." Weiss pointed out Ozpin and Glynda to Coco.

"Whoa..." Coco could only imagine someone in Weiss' family being as big as she was, but to know that they were as big as those two made it seem all the more awe-inspiring.

"Anyways, I wanna do a picture of myself and Winter," said Weiss, finally returning herself to the paper. Even without the pink crayon, she already had the perfect idea of what she wanted to make. First, she drew the grass on the ground. A widespread land of green on the bottom of the page. To make it seem like it had some more life to it, Weiss used the white, yellow, purple, blue, red, and even some orange crayons to draw some flowers on the grass. All the while, her tongue subconsciously stuck out of her mouth and hummed her own little time. The thought of drawing her big sister took up everything else in her head. She barely even noticed that Ren was looking over at her.

Ren could only watch as Weiss's tongue hung out of her mouth like some kind of wet, fleshy, red sock. Not that Ren had any right to speak, as this might have been how she always drew; even when she was at home. Still, he tried his best to bring himself back to his own drawings. One of a large line of blue crayon with some orange fish swimming around in it. It could only be described as fish swimming in the ocean. But just as he was making some more fish for that school, he looked up again at Weiss's tongue.

"Hey, Weiss?" Ren got off of his chair, waddled over, and tapped Weiss on the shoulder. "Are you... alright?"

"What do you mean?" Weiss turned to face Ren, her tongue slipping back into her mouth without her even knowing it. "I'm fine."

"Your tongue." Ren pointed to Weiss's mouth. "Your tongue was just... outside of your mouth. Are you hungry?"

"No. I'm not hungry." Weiss seemed a bit shaken. What did Ren mean by all of that? Did her tongue really stick out like that? All that she had known was that she had been drawing until he brought it up.

"Well, never mind. Mr. Tongue seems to have gone back into your mouth." Ren smiled, then went back to his place on the table. "Just... be careful, Ren. Tongues are slippery things. Or at least, that's what daddy always said to me."

Weiss was still concerned about Ren's words. She knew that he meant her no harm, but he had just brought up that her tongue was outside of her mouth. Usually, it didn't come out unless she was licking something like an ice cream. And she hadn't exactly been licking things. She brought her hands to her mouth and covered it, to make sure that her tongue couldn't escape again. Weiss sat back down and returned to her drawing. Once the grass was complete, she started to draw a little stick-figure-like character on it. It was very small, and with the addition of grey so that the white parts stood out, it was clear that Weiss was drawing herself into the picture.

During her drawing, her tongue did come out again. But every time that she was worried that her tongue was out, it slipped back into her mouth as she tried to check her mouth with her hands. This cycle repeated itself as she drew on some clothes for herself in the drawing. As she stopped, she checked one more time and was about to start drawing Winter into the picture when she noticed something else. On the other side of the table, she saw that Yatsu also had his tongue sticking out as he had been drawing something of his own. Just like Weiss, he didn't even know that his tongue was sticking out of his mouth. It was just there, dangling delicately; not dripping a single droplet of saliva.

"Yatsu?" Weiss slowly lifted her hand and drifted it towards Yatsu. He didn't notice the first time, so she tried again, only a tad louder this time. "Hey, Yatsu? Your tongue is out."

This time, she saw him react. He looked up from his drawing towards Weiss and her drawing. "Huh?" He asked, as his tongue slipped back into his mouth without him noticing. "What do you mean?"

"B-b-but..." Weiss could only watch as his tongue retreated back into his mouth, as if it knew what Weiss had seen and wanted to avoid getting into trouble. "I just saw..."

"Saw what?" Yatsu lifted a brow. "I don't understand, Weiss."

"Ren told me the same thing. That your tongue was sticking out as you were drawing. And we didn't even know," Weiss looked down at her hands, then back up to Yatsu. "What could it mean? Do our tongues like to come out when we draw?"

Yatsu made a mumble that could have been interpreted as 'I don't know', coupled with him lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "Well, I'm sure that our tongues don't mean to do this on purpose." And just to make sure, he intentionally stuck it out. "Isshn't that right? Yuu djon't mean ta caush ush any trahble, right?" He asked, with his tongue horribly butchering all of his words. And when his tongue didn't respond, he just put it back in his mouth.

Weiss could only chuckle a little at Yatsu's tongue talk. It was much more goofy and didn't fit at all with his calm, gentle personality. "You're funny, Yatsu." She said in the middle of her laugh fit, while also gently kicking her legs underneath the table. All of a sudden, it seemed like any of Weiss's worries about tongues seemed to disappear like that. Her laughter was infectious, and it got Yatsu laughing along as well.

As their laughter finally winded down, both Weiss and Yatsu went back to their little drawings. Weiss was finally able to start work on Winter at last; making a much bigger stick figure than what she had made already. With some more little scribbles, more colours being used, and having to borrow Ren's blue crayon for the sky, Weiss's vision was finally coming to fruition. And when it was all over, she laid the crayons down and there it was. A picture of herself and Winter—if albeit very crude and nothing like how they really looked in real life—standing in a flowery field of grass together. Both of them with doofy grins on their faces.

When it was finally done, she leapt from the table and ran over towards Ozpin and Glynda, clutching the drawing tightly in her hand. "Ozzie! Glynda!" She called, holding the drawing out to the two of them. "Look what I made!"

"Oh my... What's this?" Glynda bent her legs down to see what Weiss had drawn.

"It's a picture of me and my big sister, Winter!" Weiss stood with a proud smile on her face. "She's a super-big sister, but she's usually busy working. Oh, but when we have playtime together, that's the best time in the world for me and her!"

"You really do love Winter, don't you, Weiss?" Ozpin asked as he took a look at the drawing. He could only assume that by Winter, Weiss meant Winter Schnee; the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. He could only feel sorry for Weiss, knowing that she was born into an exceptionally busy family. But at least, here, she wouldn't be alone at least. With a kind tousle of her hair, he took her drawing off of her hands. "I don't know about you, but I think that this would look great on the wall, don't you agree?"

"The wall?" Weiss tilted her head as she followed Ozpin towards a wall where all of the other drawings had been hanging up above the Art Area. "Oh! That wall!" Her eyes lit up as she finally understood the context. "Now I get it."

Ozpin used a key to open a locked drawer and pulled out a thumbtack. Then, with precision, he stuck Weiss's drawing onto the wall using the thumbtack as it burrowed into the material through the paper. It was far too high up for Weiss to see it from that angle, but as she took some steps back, the image became clear. Now, her art of herself and of her big sister would be there for everyone to see. All they had to do was take a look. And that made her smile all the more wider.

"Thanks, Ozzie!" Weiss hugged Ozpin's legs once he was done with the wall and tacks.

"You're very welcome, Weiss," he simply gave her a grin.

* * *

Over at the Story Square, Blake was already very deeply engrossed in one of the books, with Jaune and Pyrrha also reading their own books. All of the tales were vastly different to one another, but they all had the same effect; to entertain the children and keep them invested in reading on. Blake's story was titled "Faunus Fairytales." She was drawn to that because her mommy and daddy would always read to her about it when times got tough. Pyrrha's book was a time-honoured tale. Rapunzel. She had always wondered what it would be like to be a princess living in a tower with long hair. That just left Jaune reading a book about brave heroes called "Heroes of Remnant."

Blake turned the page to the next story; one about a dog Faunus venturing from her home village and finding a magical spring in the deepest part of a forest, protected by fairy-like creatures. The pictures were what she was more invested in, as they perfectly captured what the books were telling her. She couldn't take her eyes off of the verdant greenery, the Faunus in the picture, and the small wisps of light that resembled the fairies dancing before her. Blake wanted to be there with her. Not just because the girl in the story was a Faunus, but because it looked like a good world to be in regardless.

As she turned her head from the books, however, she saw that both Pyrrha and Jaune were also deeply engrossed in their stories. Curiousity finally getting the best out of her, Blake put her book down and shuffled up towards them. "Hey." Blake gently tapped Pyrrha's shoulder, causing her to look up from the book. "What are you reading? It looks like a good story."

"It's called Rap... Rap-rapu... rapun..." Pyrrha couldn't exactly get the pronunciation of the story correct. She looked to the front of the book to find the title plastered all over the cover in giant letters. "Ra-pun-zel. Rapunzel. That's it."

"My mommy never read me that story." Blake lifted a brow as she leaned over and looked at the cover of the book. The first thing that she noticed besides the name was the girl in the tower. She wasn't Faunus like she was, but her titanic mass of blonde hair that hung all the way down towards the foot of the tower was pulling her in just as well. "Mommy and daddy always said that Faunus have a hard time."

"But why?" Pyrrha blinked at Blake.

"I don't know. But they said that it's not right for me to think about bad things like that," Blake gently clutched the top of Pyrrha's book with the tips of her fingers. "We can all be friends here, right? We've even got a Faunus over there." She pointed all the way out towards Velvet, who seemed to realy be enjoying herself in the Play Place.

"Yeah. We can." Jaune had put down his book and noticed the conversation between Pyrrha and Blake. "The outside world can be nasty at times. And so can some of the people in it. But that's why we're all here. So we can be safe from all of those meanies out there."

"But not everyone is a meanie out there," Pyrrha turned towards Jaune. "Mommy and daddy are really nice. And there are other good people with them. And we've also got Ozzie and Glyndie here to look after us too. So not everyone out there is bad, right?"

"Right. Mommy and daddy are super nice to me. And I'm sure yours are nice to you too," Pyrrha remarked to both Blake and Jaune.

"Mmhmm." Blake smiled a little as she nodded her head. "Mine are extra-extra nice to me. And they're really fuzzy too. Great to cuddle with when I'm in bed. What about you, Jaune?"

"Yeah. My mommy and daddy are really nice to me too. Just like my sisters too." Jaune rubbed the back of his head as a blush formed on his two cheeks. "Seven sisters; all of them bigger than me. Some bigger than others."

"Seven sisters?" Blake and Pyrrha reacted together, with their eyes popping out in surprise.

"Yep. Some of them are pretty far away, but mommy and daddy say that they're always ready to come to me when they can." Jaune pushed his hands together. "I think there's maybe one who's the littlest one, but she's just bigger than me," he said.

"Whoa..." Both Pyrrha and Blake were in awe of Jaune's family. They were so jealous that neither of them had that many sisters in their family.

"Yeah. But I'm happy to be small," Jaune's smile still stayed firm, despite thinking about his bigger sisters. "When I'm small, that means I can have all the fun I want!"

"So... why don't you play with the others over there?" Blake pointed back to the other kids. Ruby and Yang had now joined Velvet in a ball game together, while Fox was trying to invade the box castle and kidnap Penny, while Nora tried her best to repel the assault as best as she could.

"Because I don't know those kids. And they don't know me very well." Jaune explained as he picked his book back up again. "Mommy and daddy always said that strange people can be dangerous; especially kids. But they also said that pre-school was the best place for me right now. And that the kids here were super-friendly too. But..." Jaune sighed. "I still don't know anyone. Just their names."

"Well. What do you think of me?" Pyrrha asked, tilting her head.

"You're..." Jaune looked at Pyrrha from the top to the bottom. He gulped at last and said, "Well, uh, you're pretty. And you like reading books like me."

"Thank you." Pyrrha gave a nod and came over to his side, holding his hand. "You see, Jaune? We're not strangers anymore. We're both kids and we both like reading."

"Yeah. You're right." Jaune finally cracked a smile and held Pyrrha's other hand. "I guess we are, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha giggled, "You're funny, Jaune."

Jaune could only giggle himself. "Th-thanks, Jaune."

"Aww... _Isn't that sweet_?" Blake could only watch from the sidelines. "Looks like we've got some friends."

Both of the kids turned to see Blake looking at the both of them. They both blushed, let go of each other's hands and looked over towards her.

"So, why are you here instead of with the other kids?" Pyrrha asked Blake, which caused her disposition to fall away.

"M-me? W-well, uh..." Blake pushed her fingers together and felt sweat trickle down her forehead. "I just... I, uh... I like reading! Y-yeah! That's it!" She gave a lame laugh as she pushed her hands together, then scrambled for her book.

The kids stared at Blake for a few seconds, then they both said, "Oh! Okay!" And left her to it, while Pyrrha and Jaune started to read together, rather than apart.

Deep down, Blake knew the real reason why she was here and not with the other kids. She knew that they'd be able to like her and she'd be able to like them, but there was something more going on with her that she couldn't bring herself to be brave about. Well, maybe if she could spend some more group time with them, she'd loosen up a tad. But right now, everyone was freely playing and doing what they wanted to do. And right now, the most comfortable thing she liked doing was reading. That was the one thing that she liked over everything else and felt the most comfortable with.

Without the bravery to join the others, Blake stuck her head back into the book and turned the page. This next one showed the Faunus girl from the story defending the spring from Grimm; nasty monsters that inhabited Remnant. She could only watch in delight as the Faunus stood up for herself and fought back the monsters, sighing in content as she turned towards the next page and let the story go on; once again losing herself within the paragraphs, pictures, and her own imagination of herself in that story.


	4. Day One

"Alright, everyone. Gather around." Glynda clapped her hands repeatedly. And sure enough, it summoned all thirteen of the children to her feet. Ozpin came over to join them shortly after the preschool kids formed a ring around Glynda. "Now, are we all having fun?"

"Yes, Glyndie!" The kids all spoke in a chorus with each other, all with grins on their faces.

"Excellent. It's good to know that you're all starting to settle in well with each other. But now, I think it's time that we start to follow the schedule a tad." Glynda corralled all of the kids over towards the Art Area by walking over a couple of them. Sure enough, they were eager to follow after her. And as she made her way to the table, the other kids all sat down around it.

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Can I make some snow, Ozzie?" Weiss lifted her hand as she took her seat. "I make some really, REALLY pretty snow. Mommy and Winter say I do all the time!"

"Well, Weiss, I'm sure that sounds like a remarkable idea. But, can you tell me how exactly you make snow at home?" Ozpin asked, kneeling down to Weiss's height with a caring and inquisitive smile on his face. It was a small smile, but a calm one nonetheless.

"Okie-dokie. Well, first, I need some scissors." Weiss looked around for a pair of scissors. "But... I don't know where they are. Do you know where they are, Ozzie?"

"Hold on. Let me get that for you, Weiss." Ozpin made his way over towards a drawer that remained out of reach of the children and opened it up. Inside, he took out a pair of tiny scissors with plastic and rubber handles, before handing it over to Weiss. "There you are."

"Thankies!" Weiss took the scissors and started to fold up the paper. First, she folded it in half diagonally to make the paper into a triangle, and then she folded that in half two times more. Eventually, the paper was much smaller, giving Weiss exactly what she needed. "Now, mommy says that to make snow, you have to fold paper up so that it's super-tiny like this. Then, you take these scissors and do a little... snip, snip, snip!" Every time that she said the word snip, she cut the folded paper up leaving cut marks in her wake. "Like this."

"Weiss? How do you make snow?" Ruby tilted her head towards Weiss. "Snow comes from up there, in the clouds." She pointed towards the ceiling.

To that, Weiss just let out a chuckle. "Silly girl. Snow's white. And paper's white too. You can make snow out of paper easily." Weiss, now that she had made her cuts, held the paper delicately and, by pulling apart the folds that she had made, it unfolded the paper so that a few little snips now made a pointy snowflake. "Ta-da!" Weiss said as she showed off her paper snowflake to the rest of the kids.

"Whoa..." The kids all were fixated on the sight of Weiss's paper snowflake. It seemed so complex, yet she had managed to do it so easily for being so small. It was like her own little magic trick and they were the audience to it.

"Can we all do that?" Velvet asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Of course! Mommy told me that everyone can do this, as long as I show them how to do it," said Weiss. "Ozzie? Is there enough paper for everyone? And scissors too?" Weiss asked, looking up into Ozpin's eyes.

"Of course there is, Weiss. Let me just grab all of that for you." Ozpin tousled Weiss's hair, then went off to provide for each of the kids. One by one, he laid out a singular sheet of paper and handed out more and more of the safety scissors of various colours to the kids. Until at last, everyone had their own sheet of paper.

"Thanks, Ozzie!" The kids all replied in unison.

"You're welcome," Ozpin humbly replied back to them.

Everyone started to chatter among themselves as they started to fold up the paper one after another, though, not in the same way that Weiss had done it. Rather than fold it all into a triangular shape, they instead opted for regular folds instead. Each of them did start to snip once the papers had been folded enough, with many of the kids cutting in far different places to the other. Sometimes, they would cut all the way and chop off one of the edges because they thought that they were following Weiss's instructions to a T, only to go off of the beaten path without even realising it.

Then, finally, the time came for them all to reveal what they had made by unfolding the papers. Blake and Yatsu had made the most snowflake-like designs, even if some of it was squared in places. Seeing how square it looked did make them blush lightly, but they didn't mind it. The rest of them did look the most sloppy, with Nora, Yang, Ruby, and Fox making snowflakes that had seemingly giant holes in them. Meanwhile, Pyrrha, Blake, Ren, and Jaune hade made tiny changes, so it still looked more like a snipped sheet of paper than an actual snowflake. That left Penny, Coco, and Velvet making what seemed the closest to snowflakes, with many different snip patterns, even though their designs were more squared than anything.

"Uh, I think my snowflake's a little bit less snow and more flake." Nora held hers up for everyone to see. There was a garish hole staring out from the top-right corner of the snowflake that she had created.

"I don't think mine's even a snowflake," Yang embarrasedly showed hers off, her cheeks turning a shade of rosy red. "What did I do wrong?"

"Mine's too much snow and not enough flake." Pyrrha pushed hers forward, letting everyone see the tiny little snippets that she had made. It did look much more like a sliced sheet of paper than it did an actual snowflake.

"What did we do wrong?" Blake asked, looking down at her creation.

"Let me show you again." Weiss took another piece of paper and the scissors. As soon as she got the paper in both hands, she stopped and watched the kids. "Now, look closely at me, okay? I'll show you what mommy showed me." As soon as everyone's eyes were locked on her, Weiss started again on her work. "See? You fold it up like this." Weiss did the triangular folding once again. And this time, she stopped and watched as the rest of the kids started to fold it in the same way that she had done. They weren't as fast at folding it as she was, but they still managed to get there in the end. "Good. Then, you take the scissors and you give it a few snips. Like this! Snip, snip, snip." Weiss cut the paper in various different places. It wasn't a perfect replica cut as she had made last time, but it was still unique enough. "See? Now you give it a try."

The children all took their scissors and started to cut away at the paper. None of them cut in the right places and none of them were looking at anyone else for inspiration. They were all cutting up the paper in the ways that they wanted to cut it up. All the while, some of them were even muttering the words "Snip, snip, snhip." to themselves like Weiss had, lightly chuckling to themselves shortly afterwards.

"Now we open them?" Penny asked, staring up from her chopped triangle to look at Weiss.

"Mmhmm." Weiss gave a nod, then looked around at the others. "Is everyone ready?"

She watched as all of the kids nodded back at her, holding their now-cut paper triangles up with both hands.

"Now, mommy always said that's it's much better if you count down. So get ready..." Weiss leaned over the table and started to count down. "Three... Two... One... Open!"

And like that, all of the children opened up their new snowflakes to each other. And this time, they were much more like snowflakes than anything. Some of them had six points, while others had eight points. But no matter what, they were all very symmetrical and it was enough to bedazzle the children. Simply by looking at their new creations, they felt overwhelmed with how they had made the snowflakes. It was as if they had been part of the magic trick itself.

"Whoa... that's amazing!" Velvet remarked in particular as she looked at her snowflake, which had six points that she could count. "It looks super-pretty, Weiss!"

"Yeah, this is really, really cute!" Coco added, holding her snowflake up for everyone to look at. "Ozzie! Glyndie! Look! It's a snowflake!"

Glynda just lightly giggled with a closed mouth and patted Coco on the head. "Yes, Coco. It is. And I think you've all made something wonderful today. All of your snowflakes look beautiful. Really, they do."

"Yes. You've all made something great here, today. You should all be very proud of yourselves." Ozpin got down onto one knee between Nora and Penny and addressed the class of kids. "Snow's a wonderful thing, no matter when it shows up. And these paper snowflakes that you've all made look just as nice as snow itself. Why don't you put your name on the snowflakes? To show that you made this snow?"

"Sounds like a super idea! Let's do that!" Weiss started to scour the table for a pencil. As soon as she found it, she snatched it up into her hands and began to scribble down her name on the snowflake. Sure enough, she was able to write Weiss Schnee perfectly on one of the strands of the paper snowflake. "See? It's a me-flake!"

"Ooh... I wanna try! Let me try!" Nora replied, wriggling her little arms around. Shortly after, she put her snowflake down and took up a pencil for herself, scrawling the name 'Nora Valkaree'. She really meant to say 'Valkyrie', but how was she expected to say a name like that when she was so small? "What do you think?"

"Valkaree? Did you mean to say Valkyrie, Nora?" Glynda asked kindly, laying her hand on Nora's shoulder.

"Yep! It's a super-hard thing to spell, but mommy, daddy, and everyone else in my family says it good." Nora nodded with all of the energy that she could muster.

"Well, I think it definitely suits you well, Nora." Glynda patted Nora's head. "And besides. You wrote it how you like to write it. Nobody's going to get upset about that."

"Thanks, Glyndie." Nora grinned from ear to ear.

After they had finished, the other kids had just about finished their name-writing sessions. Many names now adorned the snowflakes such as Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long—though, Yang could only spell it with Shao rather than Xiao—, Blake Belladonna, Li Ren, Jaune Dark—at least, that's how he saw it—, Pyrrha Nikos, Coco Adel, Velvet Scarlatina, Fox McAlister, Yatsuhashi Daichi, and finally, Penny Polendina. All the names of all thirteen children now anointed to each of the paper snowflakes. Some of them were tiny and neatly written, while others were much larger and sloppily written in haste. But each one of them stood out because of how differently they had been scribbled in.

"Let's do some more! I wanna make more snowflakes!" Ruby waved her arm. "Can we make some more, Weiss? Can we? Can we?"

"Absolutely." Weiss gave a nod as she went for another sheet of paper and started to fold it once again. "Come on, everyone! Let's make some more snow!"

The kids all gave a cheer and started to once more let the paper and scissors fly. Every single fold, snip, and unfold was all like a rhythm at that point. All of them were chattering to one another as they each made the second of their snowflakes. And just like before, they made their patterns entirely different. And every unfold showed the fruits of their labour. Many new snowflakes finally came into being, all named by the kids after the kids. As one snowflake became two, two became three, and three became so many more, until by the end of it all, the children had made enough snowflakes that there was absolutely no room on the Art Area table. It was all just a wash of white paper shaped like snowflakes.

"Those all look excellent, kids," Ozpin was the first one to speak up now that everyone had finished their snowflake session. "You've all really done a good job with those snowflakes. I can see these working perfectly the next time snow or the winter holidays come to Beacon. But now, I think it's time to swap some snow for sun, don't you think?" He motioned towards the door leading outside, which prompted Glynda to head on over and lay her hand on the handle.

Yang gasped as she knew what was about to happen. "You mean... we're gonna go outside?!" She spoke with pure elation as she clasped her hands together and rushed off of her chair. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!"

"Yes indeed, Yang. It's time to go outside. All of you." Glynda pushed down on the handle and opened the door wide, which got all of the kids off of their chairs and stools at the Art Area and rushing over towards her and the door. "Come along now. Don't hang about. No need to be shy. There you go! Go out there and enjoy yourselves!" She said as the kids all scrambled out of the door in a very disjointed scrum.

* * *

The playground of the preschool was enough to make any kid's eyeballs pop with excitement. There, standing before the kids, was a massive climbing frame with many colours coating the wood, plastic, and metal. There were tubes to crawl through, slides to slide down, and some walls with sliding objects for the kids to fiddle around with. There was even a tic-tac-toe board with movable panels. This majestic frame stood atop of a synthetic piece of land that felt like hardened plastic. surrounding it, there was a smoothed cobblestone path. Presumably that the kids could run on or race around. The walls around the kids stood high and had cartoons scrawled all over them, so as to make the wall seem more appealing. There were also some patches of grass that were close to the walls, yet still bathing in the sunlight. Lastly, there was a wooden shed near the building which housed more objects inside. There were also some outside toys already laid out for the kids, like some space-hoppers, tricycles, and hula-hoops. Finally, there were some things built into the ground, like merry-go-rounds, seesaws, and spring rocking animals.

The thirteen kids all scrambled towards the first thing that they could see that caught their eyes. For Velvet, the first thing that she saw was the space hoppers, and she wasted no time in scurrying over to them and sitting herself down on the giant, rubber ball with handles. Fox was content with just running around the place, while Yatsu and Blake looked around the place to get the lay of the land. Penny, Ruby, Nora, Yang, Coco, and Weiss clambered up the climbing frame, Jaune and Pyrrha went to the see-saw together, leaving Ren to head towards the patches of grass.

"C'mon, Ruby! Let's go, let's go!" Yang beckoned Ruby as she scampered up the steps of the climbing frame into the first enclosed space. Ruby was shortly behind her, with the other kids hurrying off past them. A hexagonal enclosure with three walls that were just high enough for Ruby and Yang to look over without falling out of, and three other passageways leading to other sections of the climbing frame surrounded them. Ruby could see that there was a special net bridge leading over towards another one of the enclosures, with a small slide reaching down to the ground.

"Whoa..." Ruby looked over the wall at the playground around her. From here, she could look down at all of the other kids on the ground playing around. She could see Velvet bouncing along the path on her space hopper, Jaune and Pyrrha on the see-saw, and Ren sitting on the grass, patting it gently with the palm of his hand. "This place looks really small from up here!"

"Yeah. We're so high up that everything else looks tiny." Yang said as she peeked over the edge to see the world below. "Even the other kids down there look tiny. Then, she saw Fox running towards the frame. She waved her hand as much as she could, trying to flag him down. "Hey, Fox!"

"Hey!" Fox looked up from the ground and locked gazes with Yang and Ruby. "Whoa... You two look different from up there. Like... really tall." Fox tried to find Ruby and Yang's legs, but he couldn't. In fact, when he looked up from underneath the climbing frame, Ruby and Yang's feet were nowhere to be seen. "Wait. Where are your feet?"

Ruby just giggled at that. "My feet are right here, silly. You just can't see them. This really big thing's keeping you from seeing them." She patted the wall from the other side.

"Yeah. This really big wall. It's a magic no-leg wall. And a no-body wall too. It keeps us safe, but it only lets you see our heads like this," said Yang, trying her best to explain it to Fox. You can come up those stairs behind us, though. Wanna join us?"

"Sure." Fox gave a nod and rushed over towards the steps that Ruby and Yang had climbed up. Once he made it to their level, he could see Ruby and Yang on their full splendor; legs and all. "Oh! There are your legs!" He remarked as he scurried over towards them.

"Yeah. This magical wall doesn't take our legs away. It just makes it so nobody can see them on the other side." Yang saw another wall and ran on over towards it to see if she could find anyone else. She noticed that Velvet was still bouncing away happily on her space hopper. She waved her hand in the air once again to grab some attention. Try as she might, she couldn't attract Velvet over with her arm alone. "Hello, Velvet! Hello? Can you see me?" She called from over the wall as Ruby and Fox stuck their heads over the wall. However, she didn't react.

"Maybe we all need to call her together," Ruby thought about it as she kept her eyes locked on Velvet. "On three, everyone. One... Two... Three!"

"Oh, Velvet!" Everyone called together after a deep breath. This time, their combined voices were enough to get some kind of reaction. They watched as Velvet stopped bouncing for a moment and turn towards the three of them, who were waving their hands and beckoning her over.

"Yes?" Velvet asked, looking up from her space hopper at Ruby, Fox, and Yang's heads. "H-hey. Wait a minute. Where are your legs? And your arms? And the rest of you?!" Her grip on the handles got tighter as she looked with unabashed worry at the heads of Ruby, Yang, and Fox, unaware that the rest of their bodies were hiding behind the wall. "You're just heads!"

"Yep!" Fox nodded, happy that this little prank was catching Velvet out. "The rest of us is hiding behind this thingie." He patted the wall to show Velvet. "See? I still have my arms."

"Me too!" Ruby added as she raised her arms into the air and shook them around.

"Me three!" Yang added at last, swinging her arms over the wall.

"Oh..." Velvet started to piece together the rest of their tiny bodies from her side of the wall. "Now I can see it." She gave a little chuckle as she bounced over towards the kids, elegantly hopping up and down, with the space hopper squishing under the weight of her body with each bounce, which gave her the spring action she needed to bound over. "So, what'cha doing?" She asked, while still bouncing on the space hopper.

"We were climbing this really big thing! Do you wanna come and play with us?" Yang asked. "It's super-fun, and we were gonna go sliding down a slide together!"

"Well..." Velvet was torn between a rock and a hard place. She loved bouncing on the space hopper as it was, btu she couldn't say no to a good old slide down a slide. She finally came to a decision a couple of seconds later, knowing that she could bounce around on the hopper at any time, she finally climbed off and said "Okay! Let's go!" and ran up the steps to join the other kids.

Ruby, Yang, Fox, and Velvet were about to go over the net bridge to the lowered enclosure until they looked to the left. And that's when they saw it. The other enclosure was more of a tower, and right at the top of it was a larger slide in more of a tube-style. She could already see that Nora was hurling herself down it, with Weiss and Coco just behind her. The four of them ran over another bridge; but this time was made out of wood and plastic, rather than nets. Once they made to the tower, the kids all ran up another flight of stairs before arriving at a platform with the slide's entrance.

"Hey!" Coco noticed Ruby, Yang, Fox, and Velvet arriving at the landing. "You're here! That's super-duper!"

"Yeah, it is!" Ruby beamed from ear to ear as she looked at the other kids. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"Why don't we all go together this time?" Yang asked. "It'll be super-duper fun!"

"I don't really know about that." Weiss looked over the edge and noticed the tiny landing zone at the end of the slide. "I don't think that'll be a good idea. We could realy hurt ourselves and get lots of bad ouchies. I think it's better if we just go one at a time." And like that, Weiss sat down on the slide and threw herself down the tube, screaming "Wheeeeeeeee!" to herself as she vanished from everyone's sight.

"Ouchies?" Ruby looked over the edge of the pipe's entrance and saw Weiss get spat out of the end of the tube. "Ouchies are bad, aren't they, Yang?"

"Well... they are. And we don't really like ouchies." Yang had been doubting her own idea about everyong going down at the same time, and slowly shuffled her way towards the slide. She took her seat and looked down the pipe. All of the colour still was inviting, no matter what idea she had brewing in her head. "Oh well. It's still super-slidey time. So here we goooooooooo!" She said as she launched herself down the slide as she said the last word. Surrounded by an ever-curling tube of pink light, she swung and swished all the way down until she popped out of the light at the end of the tunnel, back to the ground. She got out and looked back to the top of the tower, where the other kids were waiting.

"Me next!" Coco got onto the slide and sped down it after Yang got off. "Wheeeeeeeee!" she shouted out as she went down the tube. And as she turned the first curve, Ruby and Velvet could see her special beret come off. And after she came out of the bottom of the tube, she was now hatless, revealing the rest of her auburn hair off to the world.

"Coco, wait! You forgot your special hat!" said Velvet as she flung herself down the slide on her tummy, face first down the ever-curling tube. When she made it out, she caught Coco's beret, then waddled over to give it back to Coco, who gasped when she noticed that the beret had come off of her head. She quickly took it back and Velvet said, "Don't lose your special hat, Coco. You said you love it so much..."

Now, it was just Ruby at the top of the tower. She was just about to slide down when she heard a noise.

"Beep beep! Coming through!" Nora replied as she scampered up to the top of the slide just as Ruby was getting on. In her sudden shock, she stumbled and bumped into Ruby, sending the both of them careening down the slide in a mangled mess that was quickly broken at the first turn, with Nora somehow sliding over Ruby and behind her. After that, the two of them went down together at the same time, and when they came out, Nora ever so slightly collided with Ruby. But not enough to send her hurtling off of the slide's end.

"Whoa! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Nora apologised over and over again as she patted down Ruby for any injuries that she might have taken. Any bumps or bruises that Nora tried to find were non-existant as Ruby just got off and took a look at her. "I didn't realise you were up there, Ruby."

It's alright, Nora. I didn't get any ouchies. At least... I don't think I did." Ruby looked around to see if she had taken any damage herself. To her relief, she didn't feel any pain at all. "But that was pretty fun." She just smiled.

"R-really? I didn't want you to get hurt like that." Nora hung her arms down, feeling extremely guilty for sending Ruby down like that without being able to control her fall. "I should've just waited around for you to go instead of going down with you. I've made a super-big oopsie and I don't feel happy about it."

"It's fine. Apology accepted." Ruby held Nora's hands and looked into her eyes, which started to get tears. "My mommy always said that frowny-faces can be turned to happy faces if you try really, really, REALLY hard to cheer them up. Do you wanna go down the slide again, Nora?"

"Mmhmm." Nora lightly nodded; still wracked with guilt over sending Ruby down.

"C'mon, silly billy. Let's go." Ruby grabbed onto Nora's hand and lead her back towards the slide, with the other kids just watching as the two of them made they way up the stairs, to the tower, and back to the apex of the slide. "Now, why don't we go together again, but this time, we do something safe?"

"Safe?" Nora tilted her head. "How can we be safe if we go down together? Won't that just cause ouchies?"

"Not if you do it like this." Ruby pushed Nora into place, then she climbed onto the slide and held onto Nora's sides, almost as if she was giving her a hug. "This way, we shouldn't be able to bump into each other."

Nora blinked at this new formation that she had been put into. It wasn't like anything she had ever seen before. She felt that Ruby was really gripping onto her as if she were a giant teddy bear being cuddled. Even though she hadn't really seen much of Ruby, she did have to admit that when she was being cuddle-held by her, it did feel like she was safe and secure. But she barely had time to think about that as Ruby slightly inched herself forward, causing both Nora and Ruby to slide down the slide together in their new tight-hold formation.

This time, as Ruby and Nora spiralled down the slippery slide, they went down as one individual unit of two people, rather than as a mangled mess they had been before. They popped out of the other end of the slide and bathed in the warm glow of the sunlight again as Ruby finally let go of Nora and stood daintily back on the synthetic ground again.

"So? How was that?" Ruby asked with a curious smile.

"That... was..." Nora waited for a second as her own smile grew more and more. "AMAZING!" She jumped off of the end of the slide and jumped up and down over and over again with glee. "Let's go again, Ruby! Let's do that again! Can we, can we, can we? Please, please, please, please, please?"

"Absotivelutely! And you can all come along and join in too! Let's go!" Ruby sped back off towards the climbing frame one more time, but this time with all of the other sliding kids following behind her. Ruby, Nora, Coco, Velvet, Weiss, Yang, and Fox chased after the two of them as one by one they went up the stairs, back over the bridge, and to the slide's top landing once again, ready to once more shoot themselves down the tube and come out of it feeling delighted.

As Ruby and Nora did their little lock-hold again and went down, it wasn't long before the other kids started to do it as well. Coco held on tightly to Velvet and rode down with her, Weiss held onto Yang as the two of them went down together, and Fox, being the lone wolf kid that he was chased after them gleefully. He was just happy to be part of the fun was all and didn't care if he didn't have a partner to go down with. He was spending his time having fun. And so were all of the other kids on that playground; idyllicly and joyously as they could. And as time went on, and some of the kids went out, the other kids quickly took their place. Yatsu and Ren, Pyrrha and Jaune, Blake and even Penny got in on the action. And sure enough, all of them were loving every second of it.


	5. Stories and Sleep

The kids had been frolicking and playing outside for so long that they had all lost track of time. So much so that none of them noticed Ozpin and Glynda coming outside to see how they were getting on. The way that each of the thirteen kids lost themselves in the outdoor toys, games, and other activities was almost as if it were a picture from Elysium, or whatever the Remnant equivalent was.

Eventually, the games outside had to come to an end, so at long last, Glynda took a few steps forward. She was just about to take a deep breath and call the children, but most of the children had noticed her by that point and came over without her needing to say anything; some of the little ones still chuckling to themselves as they scampered over. The only ones who hadn't come over were Velvet, who was still bouncing around on the space hopper idyllicly; Ren, who was still fiddling around with some of the panels on the climbing frame, and Nora, who had just popped out of the bottom of the slide one last time. However, as soon as they noticed the other kids were gathering around Glynda, they couldn't help but join them.

"Alright, everyone. I know you've had a lot of fun playing outside, but now it's time to come back inside," said Glynda as she started to lead the kids back to the door. "I'm sure all of that running around, jumping all over the place, and other fun things have worked up an appetite, haven't they?"

As if the world had been listening, the stomachs of most of the kids began to growl one after another. Some of the kids even had to clutch that stomach as they felt the vibrations of their hungry tummies as the noise went on; some noticeable examples being Nora, Ruby, Weiss, Fox, and Jaune.

Glynda just gave a chuckle as she lead the kids over to the door and opened it wide. "Well, I'm sure that we can fill those bellies of yours back up with some good food." She shepharded all of the children back inside, listening to the clamouring chatter of childish voices as they all scampered back inside. Ozpin followed once Glynda and the children were back inside.

Inside, the children sped on over to their bags, opened them wide, and pulled some boxes, bags, and other such containers out. Then, they all waddled towards the area where they had all sat for the introductions, sat down in a wide circle formation, laid their things down, and opened them wide to reveal the food inside. From cookies to carrots, celery to apples, there was a veritable cornucopia of food for the kids to munch on.

And munch they did. Practically immediately, the thirteen of them were all tucking into the food that had been provided for them by their loving parents and/or other guardians. They all made very so slight coos inbetween their foods; some of which were so tiny that nobody else could hear them. They were practically enraptured by their meals.

"Mmm..." Ruby said as she took a big bite of the first of her cookies, letting the flavours dance in her mouth. Cookies had always been a favourite of hers; from the first time she had ever had one, she had fallen head-over-heels in love for them. So it made perfect sense that she would get them for her lunch as well. Even as she ate, she was completely oblivious to the crumbs that were tumbling all around her as she chomped down on the food.

But not everyone was oblivious, as Weiss had noticed Ruby making a mess. Holding off on eating the apple that had been part of her lunch, she shuffled towards Ruby and tapped her on the shoulder, breaking her out of her food-induced bliss trance. "Ruby?" Weiss asked politely as she could. "You're making a mess. Aren't you worried about that?"

"Worried?" Ruby looked down and saw the crumbs scattered around her tiny legs and haunches. "Oh, that? Mommy and daddy usually clean that up. But... I'm sure that Ozzie and Glyndie can do that." She said, while looking towards Ozpin and Glynda, who were just keeping an eye on the other tykes around the room.

"But it's still not nice. Mommy always says that messy eaters should always clean up if they make a mess." Weiss stubbornly put her hands by her hips. "Mommy's never wrong, Ruby."

"But I don't have your mommy, Ruby. Me and Yang have our mommy. And our daddy. And Uncle Qrow too." Ruby's eyes glistened as she just idly girnned at Weiss. "And whenever my mommy notices that we make a mess, she's always quick to clean it up."

Weiss just pouted, looking down at the mess. So, taking the initiative, she scooped up the crumbs (as best as she could), found a nearby plastic bin made specifically for kids their size, waddled over towards it, dumped the crumbs into the bin, and made her way back to the others to finish off her lunch. At least she was doing the right thing. Her duties done, she finally took the first bite into her apple; the tangy flavor instantly running down her throat as she chewed and swallowed.

The munching went on and on until at last, all of the children had finished their lunches. Having eaten their fill, Ozpin and Glynda took the time to clean up after any of the kids who had left food in their wake; most noticeably with Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Velvet. Once they were all finished with their food, the kids took the moment to either talk to each other about kid-related things or play some simple sitting-down games like patty-cake or stacking their hands into a tower and seeing who can put their hand on top of their other hand first—which usually ended in the hands turning into a flurry of fingers.

"Alright, everyone. Come with me." Glynda clapped her hands together rapidly to once again summon the attention of the kids. She immediately saw them stand up and come over to her side like before. With the kids all following her step for step, she lead them all over to the Story Square and sat herself down on the large armchair chair close to the wall. "Now, I'm sure that you're all been having a lot of fun today, but now it's time to let all of that excitement calm down for a bit." She picked up a story from one of the nearby bookcases and laid it down on her laps.

"Ooh, ooh, Glyndie! What story is that?" Blake asked, attentively lifting her hand as she noticed the cover. It screamed out to her from the way that it looked, not only for the colours but for how familiar it was to her. "Is it the story with those shiny gems? Or the one about the princess?"

Glynda just chuckled as she opened the book wide, flipping to the first pace. "Well, Blake, if you know it already, then there's no harm in that." She propped the book up so that she could see the words without having to crane her neck downwards and let the kids get a good view of the picture on the back of the cover. Sure enough, it was a picture of a human and a deer Faunus beholding a trove of glistening gems in a bioluminescent cave. "This is the story of Samantha and Sapphire, and the Crystal Cave."

As soon as Glynda turned the page, the first paragraphs covered the left page while a picture to appease the kids appeared on the right. The first illustration was about the human and Faunus walking together through a forest. "Once upon a time, in a land far, far away. There were two people who spent every day with each other. Samantha; a human with a poor, yet stable family. And Sapphire; a Faunus curious about the humans and how they lived. The two of them had met many times before and they had since been good friends." Glynda turned the page.

"One day, during one of Samantha's walks, she heard from Scarlet that there was a rumor about a mythical cave around the village they lived; though nobody had found it," Glynda went on reading the next page as the image showed Scarlet talking to Samantha. However, because it was all an illustration, the only way that it could have seemed that way was because of the cloudy text bubble by her side with a tiny image of the cave inside of it. "Samantha thought that she could've sold the crystals to someone so she and her family could make some money while Scarlet wanted to see whether or not the story was true."

"And so, the two girls made their merry way down the forest. Nothing on their route was very interesting, so to pass the time, they tried to play some games. They tried to play some games of leapfrog, tag, and even the occasional game of hide-and-seek whenever one of them found something that wasn't trees or bushes." The picture on the right showed the two girls playing their games, scurrying through the forest. "But they still knew that the cave was more important than their games."

"Samantha and Scarlet sound like they're having so much fun!" Penny remarked, clasping her hands together. "Just like us!"

Ozpin just pat Penny on the back, kneeling down to her side. "But fun and games can only do so much for you, don't they, Glynda?"

"Indeed." Glynda nodded as she flipped to the next page. "During one of their games, Samantha and Scarlet tumbled into a heap and fell down a hill. They rolled all the way down and landed in a deep river. And the river was strong enough to pull them along." The next image showed the two girls together in the river; completely drenched and being swept along by the river. "Fortunately for them, there were no waterfalls in this neck of the woods. But they were still drifting along until they found something to stop the flow."

The kids looked nervous as they heard Glynda make the story sound as dramatic as it would. They were wanting her to continue; to see if there was a happy ending to this little adventure down the raging waters of the rivers. Sure enough, they watched as she turned the page and cleared her throat.

"The water lead the girls all the way down towards a gigantic pond. There were no paths around them at all, and the trees stretched as high as the sky itself. Bushes surrounded the land and were so thick that nothing could have gotten through; not even a bear," Glynda went on, showing the next image to the kids. It showed the two girls perfectly fine, floating in the large pond looking at the area around them. "And on the other side of the pond, there it stood. The entrance to a cave; large enough to fit the two girls and a massive crowd along with them."

"'Come on, Scarlet. Let's go and see what's inside!' said Samantha as she swam as fast as she could to the other side of the pond to the cave mouth." Glynda read on. "Scarlet wasn't as good of a swimmer as Samantha was, so Samantha had to double back to help her out. Together, the two of them finally swam into the cave. And although there weren't any rocks for the girls to stand on, they did notice that the water in the cave was more shallow than before, so they could at least let their feet touch the ground." The next page's illustration showed the girls entering the cave; their feet deftly touching the ground as they shuffled down the watery path into the cave's depths.

"Ooh..." Pyrrha had noticed just how black the cave was in comparison to the bright light and colours of the world outside of it. It was beginning to look more foreign to her and it make her tense up. "I don't like how dark that cave looks. You know, daddy always told me that the worst kind of monsters hide in places like this."

"Well, you're right to be worried, Pyrrha. It's perfectly fine to be nervous about this kind of thing. The girls were just as worried as you were too, you know," Glynda said as she turned her attention to the next page. "As the two girls went further into the cave, the light was beginning to get less and less bright. To the point where they could barely make anything out. That was until, they saw something shimmering in the distance." She turned the next page to show the girls in a dark place looking at a shimmering patch of colour from afar. "'What's that?' Scarlett asked as she tried to swim closer to it. 'I don't know, Scarlet', said Samantha. 'But I'm sure that it must be something good...'"

"Well, there's a super-pretty light at the end of that tunnel, so it must be good, right?" Nora blinked as she looked at the colours on the illustration that Glynda showed off to them all.

"That's odd. Because my mommy and daddy never told me to go to the light," Jaune chirped, looking towards Nora.

"Aww, well, I'm sure that your mommy and daddy were missing out then. Because I think that Samantha and Scarlet might have found the super-secret treasure in the caves!" Nora clasped her hands together, grinning as she waited for the climax of the story.

"The water got more and more shallow as the girls got closer to the light at the end of this cave. It was then that they saw shiny, gooey lights sticking to the walls and roof of the cave. Both Samantha and Scarlet couldn't tell whether it was the effects of Dust or some kind of magical spell, but it was still bright enough for them to see things around them again. With the ground coming back to them, the girls finally walked the rest of the way until at last, the two of them were out of the water and back on dry land. Still dripping from head to toe, they trudged deeper on and eventually came across something that made their eyes sparkle."

"There, sticking out of a tall stone in the middle were a series of crystals, loosened enough for anyone to pick up and take away. They looked very pretty in the light, and twinkled the more that the girls held them towards the lights of the cave. Neither of the girls had ever seen things like this before." Glynda turned the page to show another picture of the girls picking up the gems and taking them out of the cave. "Their journey back out of the cave and to their home town wasn't as hard as the trip getting there. They just had to go back the way that they came."

"And what happened then?" Velvet asked, tilting her head to the side, which in turn made her bunny ears droop slightly.

"When the girls finally made it home, Samantha brought the gems back home to show her family. Turns out, the gems were so rare that it was a miracle that they even existed to the merchant they sold the jewels to," Glynda showed the kids the last page of the book, which showed Samantha being paid out the money in exchange the jewels that she and Scarlet had found in the cave. "Not only was it enough to get her family a house, but it also allow Samantha to get a job of her own. And what better job to give her than a gemcrafter? Now, instead of finding gems, Samantha simply makes them. And with her new job, she and her family lived happily ever after. The end."

As Glynda closed the book, she heard the children cheering lightly at the story's happy ending as she stuffed the book back into the bookcase and stood up from the chair at last. And that was enough to get the children to stand back up as well. "Now, wasn't that a nice story?"

"Uh-huh! It was!" Yang bobbed her head up and down as she looked up at Glynda's tall physique once again. "I really, really liked the river part. I wanna swim in a river like that some day."

"You sure, Yang? You don't even like it when it's bathtime." Ruby tapped Yang on the shoulder, which caused Yang to blush at each cheek and rub her arm innocently. The other kids lightly chuckled at this, but none of those chuckles were malicious. Instead, they were innocent laughs from innocent souls who didn't know any better.

"I wanna find gems someday like Samantha did. Then I can make my momy and daddy super rich too! Then we can live just like those really fancy people in Atlas!" Nora finally spoke up at last. "Do you know where there are any super-pretty gem caves, Ozzie?"

"I'm afraid not, but it doesn't really matter, Nora. You're the greatest jewel that your mom and dad could have ever hoped for." Ozpin reached down and tousled Nora's hair, which made her laugh ever so slightly at how he ruffled her hair. "Isn't that right for you?"

Suddenly, all of the kids' chatter was broken up by a singular yawn that came from Yatsu. His eyes were closed and his arms slowly reached for the skies. The yawn made Ren yawn ever so slightly as well. And that in turn got Fox and Coco to yawn as well. It wasn't long before having seen and felt all of the other kids' yawns that Ruby, Blake, Yang, Weiss, Nora, Pyrrha, Blake, Penny, and Velvet to yawn as well.

"Sounds like you're all tired. Well, you have been read a good story," Ozpin remarked as he gathered all of the kids together. "Perhaps a nap will help you get your energy back. Come along now, follow me. No need to push or shove. You'll all get there perfectly fine."

Ozpin walked over towards the Sleep Spot with all of the children in tow behind him. Once he entered the cozy-looking area he watched as the kids all found the pillows and some snug blankets laying on the ground in a circular formation. The kids all made their way to this scattering, chose a pillow, and gathered themselves around, lying on their bellies. Ruby and Yang were next to each other, with Nora next to Ruby, Ren next to Nora, Blake in the middle of Ren and Yatsu, Fox on the right of Yatsu, then to his right were Penny, Velvet, Coco, Pyrrha, Jaune, and finally Weiss.

"Now, before you all go to sleep, wouldn't it be nice if you had something to snuggle up with?" Glynda asked as she walked over towards a transparent plastic box that was loosely lodged into a wooden frame's slot. She pulled the box out and brought it over to the kids, revealing the contents inside. "We both know that your teddy bears and other things you like to cuddle at night are all the way at home. And we don't want you to feel like it's hard to sleep. So, in this box are all of your new Cuddle Buddies."

"Cuddle Buddies?" The kids all repeated as they glanced at the box and got a view of all of the stuffed animals inside of it.

"There are animals in there of all shapes and sizes, colours, and variety. I'm sure that we'll find the Cuddle Buddy that's just right for you all," said Ozpin as he went over to the box and brought it over to Weiss, who sat up and looked at the creatures inside. "You first, Weiss. What Cuddle Buddy tickles your fancy?"

"Hmm..." Weiss looked inside of the box for the stuffed animal that spoke to her. All of the usual fare were in here. Bears, dogs, cats, ponies, but none of it really spoke to her. So, she pushed them aside and saw something white and fluffy down at the bottom. She pulled it out, accidentally spilling out many of the other animals that were inside of it to reveal what looked like a stuffed manatee. "This one!" Weiss declared as she brought the flabby stuffed manatee to her chest. "It's big, it's cuddly, and most of all, it's white like me. Can this be my Cuddle Buddy, Ozzie?" She asked.

"Of course, Weiss. It's your choice, after all." Ozpin remarked.

"Yay!" Weiss lightly cheered and immediately hugged the manatee plushie to her chest, practically squashing it underneath her arms.

"What about you, Yang?" Ozpin took the spilt animals and put them back in the box before bringing it over to Yang. "What's your Cuddle Buddy?"

"As soon as Yang saw the choices, she knew what she wanted. "This one!" She pulled out a big, plushie bee with just as fluffy wings and antennae, but no stinger on its' bottom. "I have a trike back home called Bumblebee and I love, love, love it. I wanna have the bee, Ozzie."

"Sounds perfect to me, Yang. And what about you, Ruby?" Oz went on to show Ruby the box of stuffed animals.

"Zwei! I want Zwei!" Ruby pulled out a stuffed doggie plushie and immediately brought it to her chest. "Zwei's me and Yang's puppy back home. He's such a cutie and I love him so much!"

Ozpin just smiled. "Sounds like you two were made for each other, huh, Ruby? The dog's all yours." Then he went off to tend to the other kids.

"This one!" said Nora as she pulled out a classic teddy bear.

"This one looks good," said Ren as he took out a stuffed tiger and brought it to his side.

"I wanna have a kitty!" Blake took the first cat that she saw in the box of Cuddle Buddies and snuggled up with it tenderly.

"I wanna have this one, please." Yatsu took out a stuffed animal that looked more like a bipedal beast with spines on its' back, a long tail, and a big set of teeth. "He's super strong and he can protect me from meanies in my sleep."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh, is there a fox in there?" Fox rummaged through the box and finally pulled out a orange-coloured fox plushie. "Yes, there is! This one's perfect, Ozzie!"

"I want this one! She's a really cute little pony!" Penny said as she took what looked like a pony out of the box and held onto it as tight as she could.

"There's a bunny in there!" Velvet remarked as she looked at the bunny plushie within the box. Hastily, she pulled it out and stroked it tenderly. "What were you doing in there, little guy? Did you get lost? Aww... well, don't worry about it. Mama Velvet's gonna keep you safe from now on..."

"Hmm..." Coco looked at the remaining Cuddle Buddies in the box and eventually picked out a green turtle from the pile. "This one. My mommy said my bag's like a turtle's shell. And turtles are pretty cute."

"I wanna have the owl! The owl!" Pyrrha saw the owl at last and watched as Ozpin gave the owl to her. Cooing in content, she brought the owl to her chest and rubbed it against her.

"I'm last. Not many toys left..." said Jaune, even though there were still plenty of Cuddle Buddies left within the box that Ozpin was holding. He raked through the many animals that were left until at last, he saw it. With a big bushy mane and an equally-welcoming body, it was a lion plushie. "This is perfect. This one!" he said as he picked the lion out of the box.

Now, all thirteen of the children had Cuddle Buddies and were all being tucked in one-by-one by Glynda. Their new friends being hugged, the kids started to feel more and more drowsy as the comforts of the blankets and their new toys came together. It felt good for each of them to be with their animals and even better that they were being blanketed by Ozpin and Glynda. It made them feel safe now that they were under a layer of protection and that they had something to hold onto in case they got worried. They all let out another wave of yawns and their eyelids started to get heavier with each passing second.

"You've all had a lot of fun playing around with your new friends and toys here. You've all made some wonderful paper snowflakes today and you've made all of these new friends. Me, Ozzie, and everyone else new around you," Glynda started. "Now, it's time to let your minds drift off to sleep."

"Sleepy time is just as important as regular time, you know. It helps little ones like you get all of your energy back, so you can keep on running, jumping, and playing around how you like to play," Ozpin added in. "So, cuddle with your Cuddle Buddies, let your eyes close ever so slightly, and think of some of the most wonderful things that you can think of; no matter what they are. Then, when you wake up, you'll feel much better and full of energy again."

"Mmm..." Coco muttered slightly as she cuddled up with the turtle underneath the blanket. Wriggling around ever so slightly to feel the most comfortable, she finally felt her eyes closing up. "Nighty-night, Ozzie. You too Glyndie."

"I feel sleepy too." Yatsu said as he brushed the back of his kaiju-like plushie and fell asleep at last. Clutching the toy to his chest, he felt like he could do anything and fight any monster; no matter how hard it was. And that was what made him fall asleep and dream all about it.

"Nighty-night, Ozzie and Glyndie." Ruby and Yang said together as they cuddled up with their bee and dog plushies. During their sleep, Ruby even brought her thumb to her mouth without even noticing it and suckled on it tenderly.

"Mr. Stuffy, we're gonna go on a super-duper adventure now," said Nora to her teddy bear as her eyes closed up at last. "Just like Samantha and" —she yawned in the middle of her sentence— "Scarlet." She finally slept with her teddy bear.

"So plump. So cuddly. So white like me. You're the perfect Cuddle Buddy to sleep with." Weiss yawned again and fell asleep with her manatee plushie. Like Ruby, Weiss began to suck on her thumb as well, not that she knew that she was doing such a thing.

The other kids all yawned one after another and felt their eyes closing up as well as Ozpin gently stuck the box back into place for another time. It wasn't until they made tiny coos that their eyes closed up entirely, letting them go to sleep at long last. Now that all thirteen of them were fast asleep, they were all having the most wonderful dreams. Adventures that only kids could dream up formed in their minds. From knights going to rescue princesses from monsters and dragons, journeys to caves like in the story, and in the cases of Ruby and Nora, an adventure in the land of cookies and a trip through a toy-themed world respectively. Some of the other kids also suckled on their thumbs. Namely Jaune, Coco, Penny, and Fox.

Ozpin and Glynda tiptoed away from the Sleep Spot, letting the kids sleep as best as they could. Now that the kids were sleeping, it was in their best interest to let them drift off and enjoy their adventures in dreamland. So, the two of them made their way outside to the playground to let the kids sleep. Once they were outside and the doors closed, the two of them were finally alone and could speak what was on their minds.

"It was awfully generous of you to allow Qrow to let Yang and Ruby come to class today," Glynda was the first one to reply. "But... if you don't mind me asking, what is it about those two that makes them such a special case?"

"Qrow and I had a mutual arrangement. Outside of... well, this place." Ozpin began, pushing his fingertips together. "He said that he was in dire need of some assistance with something important, so I aided to help him. There was a whole horde of Grimm nestled in the forests of Beacon; drawn towards the tension of the people struggling with their daily lives. He was right to have summoned me. For if we hadn't dealt with those beasts, who knows what could have happened?" He asked. "Beacon is a humble little city where anyone can live, but it is not as fortified as Atlas or Mistral, or has as many well-trained fighters as the Faunus in the Menagerie."

"I see," said Glynda. "I guess it doesn't seem that much of a mystery why he'd want to let Ruby and Yang come here. It's your way of repaying him after you dealt with that Grimm horde. Well, I'm glad that you both agreed on that, because I think Ruby and Yang are getting along greatly with the kids. And I'm sure that the other kids have made some really good friends in Ruby and Yang already."

"Indeed. One good act always sparks another. And children of their age are perfect for a place like this," Ozpin looked back to the windows where the kids were still sound asleep. "These children are all so young. So innocent. So carefree. The purest kind of life on Remnant there is. They've got no responsibilities. No hardships, and nothing to worry about. This, for them, is the perfect respite from the hustle and bustle of life. Here, they can play for as long as the day allows, bond with the others, and grow a deeper respect for one another."

"Which makes it even better with Velvet in the class as well. The lines between the humans and Faunus have been growing thin in recent years. The sooner we get these kids to respect, tolerate, and welcome the Faunus into their lives, the better," Glynda added." Personally, I don't mean to gaslight you, Ozpin, but I think this is a wonderful selection of children for this year. Probably the best set we've ever had."

"It's awfully kind of you to think that, Glynda." Ozpin cracked another smile. "Still, this is only the first day. There are many more days of this to go and kids... well, they are a bit of a fickle thing. One day, they're all really well-behaved. The next, they could be squabbling or arguing over something. Every day is a surprise when you work in a place like this, Glynda Goodwitch. Be ready for _anything and everything_ when it comes to these kids."

"You worry too much, Ozpin. I'll be fine." Glynda put a hand on her chest. "Kids are easy to control once you work out the teething troubles."

"You say that, but I've heard stories of Ruby and Yang from Qrow. It might be day one, but I have a feeling that we're in for a lot more when it comes to not only the two of them, but for all of the kids." Ozpin hadn't exactly seen any out-of-control behaviour so far, but he knew all too well that children; especially ones this young, were exceptionally hard to manage if everything went wrong. "Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. If what Qrow has been saying about you two is right, then I have a feeling that this is going to be a very interesting year..."


	6. Wakey Wakey

The children were still deep in the worlds of their dreams as time passed. Cuddle Buddies clutched tightly in their tiny hands, none of them stirred an inch from their blankets. Dreams of glee ran through their heads of the many adventures they were having, the worlds that they were seeing, or whatever else their tiny minds could conjure. Even as Ozpin and Glynda walked back inside, none of them reacted. As motionless as they would be if it was bedtime, the kids slept on.

Eventually, Ruby was the first one to wake up. Her body twitched slightly and her eyes began to open. She got out from underneath her blanket and stood back up on her teeny legs with her dog plushie in her hands. The first thing that she saw—aside from the other kids sleeping—was Ozpin and Glynda. She was about to speak about what a lovely sleep that she had before she was shushed by both grown-ups. Ruby mimicked them and tiptoed over.

As time went on, all of the other kids eventually awoke. Groggily yawning to themselves, they got out from under their blankets and back to their feet. Some of them still held their Cuddle Buddies close to their chests because of how much they adored them. Namely, Weiss, Yang, Nora, Penny, and Yatsu. Regardless, all of them were now awake and ready to continue their day.

"Hey, Ruby." Yang came back to her sister's side. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Mmhmm." Ruby gave a tiny nod. "I and Zwei went on tons of fun adventures while we were asleep. We fought this super nasty dragon, we swam in Cookie Creek—with real cookies, by the way, and we even went climbing with mommy and daddy."

"Cool! I wanna go to Cookie Creek now!" Yang said, snapping out of half-asleep stupor at the idea of Cookie Creek. "Me and Bumblebee here just went riding around in my dream. It was super-duper fun. And you were there too, Ruby. You and your bike too!"

"Really? Then that makes it even better!" Ruby's eyes lit up. "Now I wanna go back to sleep! Can we, Ozzie?"

Ozpin just chuckled to himself. "I'm afraid not, Ruby. If you were asleep all the time, you'd miss out on all the fun things here, wouldn't you?" He tousled Ruby's red hair delicately.

"Aww..." Ruby hung her head disappointed at being denied another chance to sleep, but she quickly got over it once she laid her eyes on all of the toys and games around the place. "Okie-Dokie."

"Ruby! Ruby! Ruby!" Nora was quick to jump on talking to Ruby. "Can we play again now?"

"Yes." Ruby nodded, but before she could say anything else, she watched Nora speed off like a bullet towards the Play Place. Velvet, Fox, and Coco weren't far behind.

"Well, you don't need to wait for my approval. Go on and play, kids," said Glynda. Once she finished talking, she watched as everyone hurried off to play with whatever they wanted.

The children were back to playing; shaking off the last bit of drowsiness from their nap. Ruby, Yang, Nora, Penny, and now Blake and Velvet were all playing a group game that involved a cluster of building blocks. They made a large base for themselves with a large single-block tower spewing out of the top. One after the other, they took turns trying to make the tower larger without disrupting the balance. And between the group, they were very good at stably placing their blocks. But as the tower got higher and higher, it became harder for the kids to reach the top, even when they were standing on the tips of their feet.

At last, when it was Velvet's turn, she tried something gutsy and sprung from the ground like a bunny would to reach the top. And that was her mistake. For as she put the block down as she came back to earth, it brought the entire structure crashing down along with her. As the entire structure of building blocks lay in ruins, Velvet could only giggle at the mayhem that had happened, while the others looked at her in confusion. After all, she was the one responsible for the destruction of their tower, yet she was relishing in the mess she had made. Perhaps it was some kind of thing that she did all the time? Or was there something more? Either way, the kids couldn't figure out what exactly had spurred Velvet's laughter.

"That was fun!" Velvet finally squeaked once she had finished her fit of laughter.

"You're happy? Whenever I do something like that, I'm sad," Ruby queried as she waddled over to Velvet, helping her back onto her feet.

"Silly, Ruby. They're supposed to tumble and crash like that. That's why we keep on building them up!" Velvet bounded on the spot and shot her hands towards the blocks again. In no time, she was making up for the mess that she had created. The other kids only stood back and watched as, with no help whatsoever, Velvet recreated the base for their tower, ready to restart their game.

"You're happy for someone who's just made a mess of things," Penny was the next one to speak. "Usually, whenever I make a mess, I say sorry first, and then I try to clean up after myself."

"Well, making a mess at home with something that the big people use is something to say sorry over. But when it comes to your toys, you can be as messy as you want!" Velvet threw her arms up, forgetting about the other part of the message she was trying to emit to the other kids. "My mommy and daddy let me do whatever I want to my toys back home and they never, ever get mad at me for it."

"That's strange. Normally, my mommy always makes me clean up my toys whenever I go to bed," Weiss added to the conversation by waddling up to the group of kids by the blocks.

"Your mommy makes you clean up? That sucks, doesn't it?" Fox was the first one to reply to her. "Having to do chores with your toys? I can't even imagine that."

"It's just as fun to put your toys away as it is to play with them where I come from," Weiss grinned as she started to push the blocks into a more neat fashion so that the base looked more symmetrical.

"H-hey! What are you doing?!" Yang looked a little bit shocked at Weiss' interjection. She wasn't even in the game that they were playing and she was already trying to make it seem neat and tidy.

"I'm just trying to make the blocks look prettier," Weiss remarked, looking into Yang's eyes. "Mommy always says that the neater something looks, the better it looks and the more fun it is to play with. That's why my toys are always cleaned whenever I'm done with them."

"Cleaning your toys? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard!" Nora couldn't help but laugh at Weiss's remark. She was still a kid and this was her first day of meeting Weiss, so to hear that there were people out there that cleaned up their toys after each playtime with them was odd.

"It might be silly to you, but to me and mommy, it's a good thing," Weiss retorted, then finally moved away from the blocks. "There we go. Nice and tidy." True to her word, the blocks were all clumped together to make a much more solid foundation, as if it could be used for a diorama of an actual skyscraper. One with so many colours, shapes, numbers, and even pictures on the faces. Her work finished, Weiss waddled away, leaving the others to return to their work.

Pyrrha was in the corner of the Play Place, but she was doing something else entirely. Rather than doing something energetic like the group at the blocks, she was sitting on her rump holding a stuffed animal close to her chest. It wasn't the same as her Cuddle Buddy from her nap, as it was much bigger and—from the way that she was tenderly nuzzling it—more huggable as well. It wasn't long before she was joined, as she noticed Jaune walking over to her side.

"Hey, Pyrrha," Jaune waved as simply as he could, sitting himself down next to her. "What are you doing?"

"Hi, Jaune. I'm just cuddling with Mister Lion," Pyrrha said, holding the stuffed animal up to Jaune. Its' mane was luxuriously silky and its' plush claws looked as regal as any lion. "He's so cuddly, you know. Just like the lion I have back home that mommy and daddy always let me play with whenever they're busy."

"You like lions?" Jaune asked as he scooted a little bit closer to Pyrrha.

"Mmhmm!" Pyrrha nodded. "They're really big and powerful, but they're also full of fuzzy-wuzzy fur that you can cuddle with all day! It's like a giant, walking pillow with a swishy tail!" And just to showcase said tail, Pyrrha swung the floppy tail back and forth. "Swishy-swish, swishy-swish..." It was almost hypnotic with how the tail entranced her.

Jaune just chuckled at that.

"So, do you wanna cuddle him too, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, offering Jaune the lion toy.

"S-sure," Jaune said, taking the plushie out of Pyrrha's hands and into his own. He brought the large, plump plushie to his chest. Even holding it felt good to him. For a few seconds, he found himself unwilling to bring it any closer, as he made circles on the toy using his fingertips. The circular motions that he made were exceptionally soothing and calming, and he felt more comfortable in this place with this toy than he did before. Finally, with a little coo, he brought it to his chest and gave it a little hug, to see what Pyrrha saw in playing with it. As Jaune coiled the toy around his arms, he rubbed it against his cheek tenderly, brushing it with the fur. This too proved to make him feel happy and content with himself.

"This feels... good," said Jaune at last as he looked towards Pyrrha, who was simply giving him an innocent smile.

"It is, isn't it?" Pyrrha beamed as she watched Jaune continue to hold the lion close. "Mommy always says that a plushie will be your very best friend when you feel sad. Whenever there's something mean and nasty like thunder and lightning, or when you feel afraid or something, a plushie will make it all better. That's why whenever I go to sleep, mommy always gives me something cuddly to sleep with, just like our Cuddle Buddies."

"That sounds nice," Jaune simply said as he looked into the beady eyes of the lifeless stuffed animal.

"It is nice." Pyrrha nodded. Then, she did something rather spontaneous. She scooted even closer, wrapped her arms around Jaune, and gave him a hug of her own.

Jaune seemed taken aback over the sudden hug that he was receiving, but he still held firmly onto Mister Lion all the same. He could barely make her out anymore, but he could still feel Pyrrha's warm, soft body pressing against his own. Little strands of her red hair could be seen in the corners of his eyes. Still, he was curious about what he was witnessing and asked, "Uh, Pyrrha? Why are you hugging me?"

"Because we're friends now, aren't we?" Pyrrha replied sweetly.

"Friends?" Jaune parroted, unsure what to make of things.

"Mmhmm," Pyrrha hummed again. "Friends are friends when they do things together. You and I both like to cuddle with Mister Lion, so that means we're friends. Daddy always says that when you both enjoy doing something and it makes you both happy, then you're friends. And mommy always says that, when you have friends, it's good to hug them close and make them feel happy." Pyrrha rubbed Jaune's back as she hugged him as if trying to release any kind of shocks or apprehensions he had.

Jaune let those words stew around in his head. Truth be told, he was one of a kind when it came to this pre-school. He was new, and so was everyone else. He barely knew any of the other kids here and now, one of them was trying to hug him. He had always thought that only his family would get to do that, but here was Pyrrha of all the kids trying to hug him regardless. As much as he wanted to think it was weird, it wasn't. As time went on and Pyrrha continued to rub his back, Jaune couldn't help but smile at the warm hug. Eventually, he lifted his hands and hugged Pyrrha right back, which made her coo in contentment as well. The two kids just sat there, giving each other their hugs, almost forgetting about Mister Lion entirely as they caressed each other.

Then, at last, the hugging stopped, and both Pyrrha and Jaune looked into each other's eyes with the biggest of grins. Slowly, Jaune reached his hand out for Pyrrha, as she did for him. The two toddlers ended up holding hands, palms pressed and fingers locked around each other. Both of them stopped as they held each other's hands, then they both climbed back to their feet; the hand-holding feeling weirdly natural to them now.

"So, do you want to play together?" Jaune nervously asked, blushing at each cheek.

"Of course. Let's go together, Jaune!" And without another word, Pyrrha darted off, with Jaune chasing after/being dragged along by Pyrrha across the floor of the pre-school.

In another part of the pre-school, Blake, Ren, and Yatsu were all together in a triangle formation. All three of them were gathered together around some books.

Blake was the first one to pick up one of the books. She put it down on her lap and opened it wide for the others. The pages, immediately brimming with life, presented themselves to the little ones. The pretty pictures for each of them to gawk at, with the words on the other page to bring the story of each one to life.

"Y'know, reading books is the bestest thing ever," Blake said calmly as she flipped the page to reveal the next one. "Every single story never gets old, and there are so many adventures to go on. That's why I always have mommy and daddy read me a story whenever I go to sleep."

"My mommy and daddy read me a story too," said Yatsu. "They always say that a story's the best way to cheer you up when you're feeling sad."

"Mmhmm." Ren nodded. "I, really, really like stories about heroes. Princes who rescue princesses, superhero stories with those cool fights, even some adventure stories like the one Glynda read today." He picked up another book and showed it off to the others. "Like this one! Super Silva; Hero of Remnant! It looks amazing!"

"Whoa..." Blake and Yatsu were entranced by the cover of Super Silva, which depicted what looked like a human girl dressed up in a silver outfit complete with a mask to disguise their true identity fighting off monsters with gnarled bodies, sharp teeth, and oily black skin.

"Are those... the Grimm?" Blake asked, pointing at the book

"Grimm?" Ren looked at the cover of the book, trying to find what Blake was talking about.

"Mommy and daddy tell me that the Grimm are super-scary monsters that hurt people who feel sad or angry." Blake raised a finger while she was talking about. "They're super-mean, but as long as we're all happy and nobody feels sad, then the monsters won't come and eat us all up."

"Oh! Now I get it." Ren let out a small giggle and blushed at each cheek.

"Mommy always said there were nasty monsters out there that ate up little children who were feeling sad," Yatsu added. "But we're safe, right?" He didn't get a response back from either Blake or Ren. That was what made him tense up in his arms. "W-we're safe, right?"

"Mmhmm." Blake gave an innocent nod. "We've got superheroes like Super Silva saving us. And there are all those other big people at the tower at the end of the city. So whenever there are meanies like the Grimm who come to try and eat us, we'll be saved by a superhero!"

"Yay!" Ren and Yatsu threw their arms up into the air with glee.

In that motion, Ren accidentally tossed up the book that he had been holding onto. He just sat there in shock as the book opened up and landed back on his head, pages bending and folding as they came crashing back down to earth, toppling from his scalp onto the floor. Ren's face mangled into a look of embarrassment and horror as his hands shot down towards the book. "Oh no, no, no, no, no! Please be safe!" He quickly frisked through all of the pages, not even bothering to read the actual story inside. Luckily for him, there weren't any tears in the book, but some of the corners of the pages had been turned up from how they had landed on him. Ren tried his best to bend them back into shape, but once it was all done, he could see the bend lines. And those lines didn't look pretty to him at all. "Oops..." Ren hung his head at the sight of what his favourite book had become.

"Aww... Don't be sad, Ren. It happens," Blake scooted over and rubbed his head to try and take the pain away while he tried to get rid of the lines. "You can still read it, right?"

"I... guess." Ren sniffled. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the ruffled lines that had been made because of his silly little mistake. He sniffled slightly, strongly avoiding the urge to cry. But for all he knew, this book probably wouldn't ever go back to being the way that it was.

"We all make little oopsies, Ren." Yatsu came along now and gently held Ren's hand. Looking into his eyes, he gave him a gentle pat on the back and turned the story back to the start. "But mommy says that it's alright. We're tiny. And we need to learn. So now you know not to throw books; even if you're happy."

"R-right." Ren gave a limp nod.

"So, why don't we read the story together?" Blake asked, her eyes locked on the first picture and the text that came along with it. "I wanna see this Super Silva save the day now! She looks cool."

"Me too," Yatsu chimed in. "Let's see Super Super battling those meanies, Ren!"

"A-alright," Ren said as he made it to the first page, showing a woman strolling down the streets. But even as his eyes focused on the story that he knew near and dear to his heart, he still couldn't get the thought of those wrinkles that he had made out of his mind. "It was a normal day in Vacuo for Silva Arrow until..." He turned the page, to show that there was an illustration of some noises coming from the streets ahead, as well as Silva Arrow being shocked by the noise. "What's that? Screaming?" The next line made Ren's heart soar. "This looks like a job for... Super Silva!" He proudly proclaimed as the next page revealed said girl going from her civilian attire into her hero outfit.

For the rest of the story, Ren's dread went away with each page he and the others read. The three toddlers all watched in delight as they saw Super Silva beating the stuffing out of the monstrous Grimm, defending people who couldn't fight back, and being just a generally cool person. It even got to the point where the three kids were even mimicking her punches and kicks by playfully striking the air with their short, stubby limbs. Every time that they did, the three of them shared a giggle. It seemed like everything else around them needn't have existed when they had this book to enrapture them.

"And now for her best move!" Ren said as he turned the page again. "Say it with me. One, two, three!"

"Superstar Spinning Strike!" The three toddlers all called together, jabbing their hands forward as the latest picture showed Super Silva barrelling through each of the monsters with a mighty hooked punch that looked like she had spun around entirely to wind it up. Needless to say, the blow was so mighty that it was worthy of an action shot, as the bodies of the Grimm were dislodged from the ground and sent flying in all directions, either flown forward from her attack or tumbling over her shoulder from the force of the impact. The children laughed with delight as they brought their hands back, turning the page once more, to show the Grimm disappearing after such a hectic encounter.

"That was fun!" Ren said, closing the book up. Whatever he had been thinking about was long gone.

"Yeah, it was!" Yatsu gave a nod. "Especially that good part. Right here!" He scoured the pages until he found the scene he was looking for.

"We should read together some more!" Blake announced. "After all, we all liked Ren's story, so why don't we all read stories to each other from now on? We can have a... Oh, I know! A book club!"

"Book club?" Both Ren and Yatsu chorused.

"Mommy always goes on about her book club, how she and the other big boys and big girls she meets get together and talk about books," explained Blake. "We can have one too! Talking about books, reading books, sharing books, it'll be so much fun!"

"Yeah... That sounds fun, Blake!" Ren grinned from ear to ear.

"I wanna join! I wanna join too!" Yatsu remarked.

Blake chuckled and clasped her hands together. "Then it's settled. From now on, we're the Beacon Pre-school's official Book Club!" blake thrust her hand forward, palm facing downwards. It wasn't long before Ren put his hand on top of Blake's, and then Yatsu on top of his. All three hands swung upwards and all three of them shared a cheer, sealing their bond as book-reading friends.

* * *

The day went on as normal, with the kids engrossing themselves in their activities as much as possible. Playing around in the Play Place, reading stories in the Story Square, making things in the Art Area, and overall being as energetic as kids their age could be, with Ozpin and Glynda overseeing each of their little games. There was barely anything needed of them, save for a few high-up things that the kids couldn't reach. There weren't any fights, trips, incidents, or other calamities, but it was still rather taxing for the two of them to look after 13 kids; each one just as full of life and spirit as the last.

The games eventually came to an end as the main door leading to the pre-school was knocked on. As Glynda went to see who was on the other side, Ozpin took the time to gather each of the children up so that they were ready to be collected by their respective mothers, father, and other guardians.

"What is it, Ozzie?" Penny asked, tilting her head at Ozpin.

"That sound, Penny, means that we've run out of time for today." Ozpin pointed to the door as Glynda was talking to the people on the other side. "All of your mommies and daddies are here, and it's time for you to go back home.

"Aww... But I wanna play more!" Nora whined, dropping her arms down and pulling a sad face at him.

"Now, I know that you've had a fun day today, but all good things have to come to an end, I'm afraid," Ozpin said as he went to the door and joined Glynda. "But I know that you'll be back tomorrow for another day of excitement, won't you?"

"Now, I'll be calling your names out one by one," said Glynda. "Penny? It's time to go."

"Okay." Penny nodded and waddled over towards the door.

"Bye-bye!" The other kids waved Penny off as she arrived at the door, squeezed through the open crack, and met whoever was waiting for her on the other side.

The process was repeated over and over for each of the kids. The next one to go was Jaune. He gave a little wave to the other kids in the class, then went out. After that, it was Fox, who raced over and didn't even look back at the others. Then came Yatsu. Following him was Weiss, and then Blake. Next was Ren, and then Pyrrha. Coco went next, then Velvet. Nora tried not to leave, but Ozpin just held her by the hand and escorted her out—Ruby and Yang didn't even see Nora's pouty face as she went out the door.

"And lastly, Ruby and Yang. Your Uncle Qrow's here to get you," Ozpin said as Glynda opened the door wide, to reveal Qrow on the other side.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby and Yang delightedly dashed towards Qrow and threw their bodies into his legs, hugging them as tightly as they could.

"Hey, Ruby. Hey, Yang," he said, tousling the hairs of both of his little 'troublemakers'. "Ya had a nice day?" He asked.

"Yes! We made lots and lots of new friends here!" Ruby grinned from ear to ear up at Qrow. "And there are so many things for us to play with here too!"

"And the outside place is just as great!" Yang added in. "Ruby and I couldn't stop sliding on that big slide out there!" Yang pointed out through the window towards the slide in the now-empty playground.

"Well, I'll bet you've got a lot of stories to tell Summer when you get back, huh? But for now, I think it's time we get home. Get some rest, then come back tomorrow for some more." Qrow said as he started to lead the kids out of the room.

Ruby chuckled. "Okie-Dokie, Uncle Qrow."

As Qrow watched Ruby and Yang scuttle off down the corridor, he looked back at Ozpin one last time. "So, you sure that you can handle all these kids? Not just Ruby and Yang, but, like, everyone?"

"I appreciate the sentiment you have for me, Qrow, but we both have this perfectly under control." Ozpin was quick to reply as he folded his arms.

"I know, I know. You're some kind of wonder-human to them. But what's gonna happen the day when too much happens all at once and you won't be able to control it?" Qrow asked. "I mean, let's do the math here, Oz. There are thirteen kids in there, not to mention a Faunus girl. Have you seen the mess that the Faunus are in out there? I'm grateful that they're all in here, away from the melting pot of madness that's going on in the real world, but... I dunno, it doesn't help to have some more people lending a hand."

"What makes you say that, Qrow?" Glynda asked, lifting one of her eyebrows to him. "Are you thinking of wanting to work here with us.

That statement caught Qrow completely off-guard. His eyes shrunk to pinpricks and it looked like he jumped from his spot with how much he lurched. "What? No. No way, Glynda. I've already got a lot on my plate as it is. I try balancing that out with everything in here? I'd go mad."

Glynda just chuckled. "Oh, I know, Qrow. You've made it awfully clear how your life and our lives are different beasts entirely."

Qrow just sighed. "Look, I don't doubt you for a second, but one of these days, you're gonna have to learn that many hands make light work; especially in a pre-school like this," he said. "Kids have far much more energy than Huntsman and Huntresses. Can take an awful lot out of you trying to keep them in check, especially on the days when they decide to go crazy. Just... keep that in mind, will ya? I don't wanna see you end up looking worse for wear, Oz. Especially not after what you and I went through together."

"Your concern is noted, Qrow. But like I said, we have this under control," Ozpin remarked. "Don't worry about a thing that goes on in here. Just focus on what's going on in the world around you. Ruby, Yang, and every other child that comes in here is safe and protected."

"Suit yourself," Qrow just shrugged and turned his back on Qrow and Glynda. "Same time tomorrow. We'll be back."

"And we'll be waiting." Glynda gave a nod.

The door finally closed, plunging Glynda and Ozpin into silence. They took a look back at the room, seeing the mess that the children had left in their wake. Toys were scattered, some books hadn't been returned, and there were still some implements in the Art Area that hadn't been put away. Both grown-ups went back to the individual areas and went to clean up the mess that they had made.

"So, do you think what Qrow was saying was right?" Glynda spoke her mind as she collected the books and started putting them back on the shelves of the Story Square. "That we're only two people looking after thirteen kids?"

"Qrow is right to be worried about us. Many people would when it's quantity vs quality," Qrow remarked as he started collecting the individual toys in the Play Place and putting them back in the chests, boxes, or other receptacles from whence they came. "However, I would like to say that we are fine for the time being. If we do get some more children, however, then we might need some help. If just one more child were to join this class, we would essentially be managing seven children each; all with a spring in their step and an eagerness to play."

"Right, right." Glynda slotted the last book into its' proper place and went over towards the Art Area to clean up the things that had been left there. "Still, who would you have in mind for joining us?"

"I'm not entirely sure at the moment. As it stands, anyone's good for the role. Even Qrow, for as stubborn and bitter as he can be." Ozpin gathered up the blocks that had been scattered around and placed them in a transparent, plastic box with a flip lid. "Still, as I've said. It depends on what happens. Until then, I would like to say that we're both doing fine here."

"Yes. Though, it doesn't help to have some kind of plan for every situation." Glynda finally cleared up what was left on the table and used a cloth and disinfectant spray to get rid of any leftover residue that may have been left behind. "We can think about this another day, Ozpin. After all, it's a new start for many of these kids. Let's just focus on the ones that we do have before we even start thinking of growing the circle a bit more."

"Indeed." Ozpin finished putting away the toys and waited for Glynda to come over. As soon as he did, he opened the door and let her go out first. "For these little ones, their biggest adventure yet is only just beginning." He walked out of the door and flipped a switch, which turned out the lights. Once that was said and done, Ozpin walked out of the room and locked the door up with a key. He and Glynda then made their own way out of the building, homeward bound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh! I should have done this chapter sooner, but I got so distracted with other things that it just completely pulled me away from it all! Sorry for making you wait all this time, but I hope that you like what you see here and can't wait to see more chapters of this story coming out soon.
> 
> Until then, I'm Shadowmane, and you have all been wonderful for reading this. See you all soon!


	7. Jumping for Joy (And glory)

It was another day at the Beacon Pre-school, and the day was starting off to a rather normal start. As before, Ozpin and Glynda were watching over the kids as they got on with their shenanigans. As a change of pace, Ruby and Yang were busy scribbling something down on the paper with Penny in the Art Area, while Jaune, Ren, and Pyrrha were with Weiss and Fox reading some books. Meanwhile, in the Play Place, Fox, Blake, and Yatsu had been pulled away from their games and had gathered around Nora and Velvet. Nora had her hands tightened up into tiny fists and shook both of her arms in a pouty-fashion, while Velvet looked like she had been caught by surprise with how grumpy Nora looked.

"Nuh-uh!" Nora exclaimed. "I can bounce better than you can!"

"Nora, please stop being mean," said Velvet, as she shook her hands in front of her face. "You can bounce really high too."

"But it's not high enough!" She moaned. "You're a bunny, so you can bounce really, really high. And you bounce all the time too! It's not fair!"

"Nora..." Blake took a few steps forward and held Nora's hand. "It's alright."

"No! It isn't!" Nora snatched her hand away from Blake. "I wanna bounce as good as a bunny can. I've been bouncing and jumping all the time! I wanna be the best bouncy kid here!"

"Nora, you're getting really angry." Yatsu grabbed onto Nora's other hand and looked into her eyes. "Do I need to talk to Ozzie and Glyndie?"

Nora looked at Ozpin and Glynda, who had taken notice of her little moment and were ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Blushing at each cheek, Nora immediately simmered down, shrivelling up on the spot and twiddling with her fingers. "But... I wanna be a good bouncy kid. Velvet does her little bouncy dance every time she wants to feel happy."

"Because there are scary things and I wanna make the scariness go away," Velvet lifted her hand. "I don't bounce to show off or to fight somebody. I just bounce because it's fun." She smiled.

"I know! And it looks like so much fun! And I wanna bounce as good as you can, Velvet!" Nora, even though she was contesting Velvet, was smiling ever so slightly. "You go up and down, up and down, boingy-boingy-boingy all over the place, and I wanna be like you!"

"Then why don't you?" Velvet asked.

"Because I don't just wanna bounce. I wanna bounce the best!" Nora squealed.

"Then..." Fox twiddled his little fingers. He didn't want to see this go on for much longer. At last, a thought finally popped into his head and he tapped Nora on the shoulder. "Hey, Nora?"

"Yes, Foxy?" Nora turned her head to face Fox.

"Why don't you turn this little fight into some fun instead?" He asked, scampering over to Velvet's side and laying a hand on her shoulder. "Mommy always says when two kids are fighting, the fastest way to settle it is to make it a contest. A game."

"A game?" Nora tilted her head at what Fox meant by that.

"Yeah, a little bounce-off to decide once and for all, who's the bestest bouncy kid there is!" Fox threw his arms into the air.

"A bounce-off?" Nora let the idea stew in her head as she tried to envision what it could look like. Although, since she was small, she could only imagine herself bouncing up and down higher than Velvet could, which immediately made both of the corners of her mouth turn up into a smile. "That's a wonderful idea, Foxy!" Nora threw herself into Fox, giving him a tight hug.

"Th-thanks, N...nora." He tried to free himself from Nora's almost chokehold-like hug by slapping her back. His hands barely did anything and she kept on hugging him. It wasn't until she saw how scrunched up his face was that she stopped.

"Oopsie. Sorry..." Nora clapped her hands together and hung her head. "Mommy always said I give super-duper tight hugs."

"But a bounce-off sounds like tons of fun." Velvet came over and laid a hand on Nora's shoulder. "Do you wanna play with me, Nora?"

"Mmhmm! Yes!" Nora nodded vigorously. "We'll have the biggest, bestest, bounciest bounce-off ever!" She leapt into the air, punching it with delight.

* * *

Nora and Velvet then spent the rest of their day telling the plans to the other kids. The thought of a bounce-off was enough to draw their attention, especially in the cases of Ruby, Yang, and Penny. The word spread around fast and soon, all of the children had gathered around Nora and Velvet to get started with the concept of the bounce-off. And with the gathering of the kids, it quickly drew Ozpin and Glynda over to see what exactly what was going on.

"Oh?" Ozpin was the first of the two grown-ups to speak. "What's going on here?" He asked, kneeling to Penny's height.

"Oh, hi, Ozzie!" Penny gave him a gentle wave. "Nora and Velvet are having a bounce-off!"

"A... bounce-off?" Glynda blinked.

"Mmhmm!" Yang nodded. "Nora and Velvet were having a nasty fight, but Fox suggested that they play a game to stop them from fighting!"

"So Nora and Velvet are gonna be bouncing and jumping around so much to see who's the better bouncer!" Ruby chimed in. "When Penny told me about it, it sounded so much fun! I wanted to play too, but Nora and Velvet just said no."

"At least they were kind," Weiss added. "You would have been crying and wailing if they were meanies, wouldn't you, Ruby?"

"I'm afraid I don't follow," said Ozpin as he looked out to see Nora and Velvet doing some little, tiny stretches to prepare themselves for the impending bouncing they were about to do. "However, I think that if this is a way for the two of them to settle a dispute between themselves instead of fighting and crying, then I think it's a wonderful idea. Not to mention, a rather fun one at that."

"So... what exactly happens in a 'bounce-off'?" Glynda asked."

"Well..." Fox said as he saw the two girls get ready. "It's a bunch of games. First, they've gotta bounce as much as they can as fast as they can. Then, when we go outside, it'll be a bounce-race around the playground. And then, after we come back in and have our nap, they've gotta bounce as high as they can. Whoever's the best wins."

"Yep! And we're all helping!" Pyrrha nodded. "We're all gonna count how many times the girls can bounce!"

"Oh, no. You can leave that to me and Glynda, Pyrrha." Ozpin reached over and tousled Pyrrha's hair, making her raise her arms instinctively. "I'll keep track of how many times Nora bounces, while Glynda keeps track of Velvet's bounces. Nothing against you or the kids, but you're still very young. You'd lose track after ten bounces."

"Why would we forget?" Pyrrha tilted her head. "We won't. Promise!" She grabbed both of her hands together. "It's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve... uh... what's after twelve?"

"Thirteen. But that's a lesson for another day, Pyrrha." Glynda butted in. "For now, leave all of the big numbers to us. We'll be able to tell both Nora and Velvet who bounced the most. However, I've full confidence for you judging the race and the height competition. I'm sure that you can keep track of who crossed the line and bounced the highest."

"Pinkie Promise, Ozzie?" Pyrrha held her little pinky finger out.

"A pinkie promise is the biggest promise of all. Break it, and you make us very, very sad," Ren spoke up next.

"Mommy says a pinkie promise ends friendships. That's why I never, ever, ever break my pinkie promises." Weiss chimed in as well, shaking her head.

"I see. Well, then I pinkie promise that we'll be sure to count all the times that Nora and Velvet bounce." Glynda gave a nod and wrapped her pinkie finger around Weiss's little finger. "Ozpin, will you do the same?"

"Of course, Glynda. I pinkie promise as well." Ozpin wrapped his little finger around Pyrrha's little finger, which made her grin. "Speaking of which..." He looked over to Nora and Velvet. "Are you two ready to begin bouncing?"

"Yep!" Nora nodded her head. "Are you ready to bounce, Velvet?"

"Mmhmm!" She gave a closed-eye smile as she turned to face Ozpin and Glynda. "You and Glyndie will do your best, right, Ozzie?" Both of the grown-ups nodded, and Velvet watched as the other kids gathered around her and Nora. "Okie-Dokie then, we can play this bounce-off!" A cacophony of cheers came from the children as Fox walked forward.

"Alright. Game time! Nora, Velvet, you've gotta jump as many time as you can until... Until..." He looked around for something to measure the time. Eventually, he saw the clock ticking away on the wall. It was very close to 11 o'clock. "There! You two have to bounce until the big hand makes it to the top!"

"Until that big hand moves all the way around?" Coco waddled a few steps forward and tried to make out how far the hand was away from the clock. It was still three minutes to 12, but to Coco, it seemed much closer. "That's not a lot of time!" She gasped. "Nora, Velvet, bounce as much as you can! Bounce really, really, REALLY fast if you have to!"

"We will!" Nora gave Coco the thumbs-up gesture.

"Alright!" Fox did a fist-bump, then let's start the bounce-off. In..." He held his hand up, with three fingers poking out of it. The other children knew exactly what he was about to do and raised their hands to join in.

"Three! Two! One!" They all counted down, curling their fingers back into their hands as they did so. At last, after the final finger was curled up, all of the kids said, as loud as they could, "BOUNCE-OFF!"

Seeing that as their cue, Velvet and Nora got started with their ferocious bouncing contest. Both of them started to jump up and down on the spot as fast as they could. They only did little jumps, since they were going to be saving all of their strength for the big height contest later on. And while they weren't exactly jumping record-breaking distances off of the ground, it was noticeable how fast they were bouncing on the spot. It felt like they were bouncing every half a second if Ozpin and Glynda had to estimate the average speed. As Nora and Velvet were bouncing, all of the kids were cheering them on, which started as a random clamour of many voices at once, until halfway through, they started chanting Nora and Velvet's names to show their support.

Nora couldn't exactly put into words what the sensation was. Sure, she had been a bouncy and playful kid all of her life, but now she was putting it to the test against an equally bouncy kid. She felt the determination to prove that she was the better bouncer, as well as the glee from simply playing along. But as time went on, her feet started to ache. It wasn't a heavy ache, but there was only so much bouncing that she could do in such a short time. And even now, looking at Velvet, she wasn't giving up. She didn't show any signs of fatigue or pain, so Nora just had to buckle down and suck it up. After all, if Velvet was going to take this bounce-off so seriously, then so should she.

Velvet had never played against each other in any games before. Sure, there were the imaginary games that she played where there were people who played the role of bad guys, but that was just pretend-play. Entirely make-believe. Now, here she was competing against another kid in the pre-school over a trivial matter such as bouncing. Velvet didn't want to come out and say to stop. She would disappoint Nora if she did. She barely even knew Nora, but she was in the same class as she was, so that had to mean something. Unlike Nora, Velvet had been bouncing and jumping around much longer than Nora had, so her feet didn't hurt as much. Even then, it looked like Nora was entirely unfazed so that just motivated her to keep going.

Ozpin and Glynda were trying their hardest to keep track of all of the bounces in their heads. Both of the children were very bouncy and rambunctious, so they had to speed count in their heads to keep up. At the very least, Ozpin was focusing on Nora and Glynda was focused on Velvet. Still, the numbers added up. Fifty-seven. Fifty-eight. Fifty-nine. Sixty. Sixty-one. It was almost hypnotic in a way to see Nora and Velvet's tiny feet bouncing up and down on the soft floor. They almost broke their focus watching the feet go, but they still pushed on. Seventy-nine. Eighty. Eighty-one. Eighty-two. They didn't dare look at the clocks lest they miss some bounces. They only had to hope that one of the other kids was paying attention to the time.

The kids chanted on and on, and during it all, Fox had taken the time to break away from the crowd and take notice of the clock. He saw how high the clock hung above the room. It made him feel even smaller than he already was, but still, he kept a vigilant eye on the clock, with the noise of the bounce-off reverberating in his ears. He watched as the big hand moved one more notch. It was now one tick away from 11 o'clock. Fox looked back at the bounce-off. The other kids had blotted out most of the view, but he could still see Nora and Velvet's heads poking out above the group. Fox could see that they were starting to wear down slightly. They wouldn't be able to go on much longer. At least the game was already over. Finally, he turned back to the clock and watched as the big hand finally hit the top.

"Stop! Stop, stop, stop!" Fox called out as he barrelled back to the kids. "The big hand's at the top!" He called out at the top of his voice.

Fox's shout was enough to get Nora and Velvet to stop and turn to face him. It was also enough to get the other kids to stop cheering and chanting.

"Oh?" Glynda looked at the clock first. "So it is. Well, that's a relief."

"That it is." Ozpin took a deep breath, recovering his psyche after that intense bounce-count bonanza that he had just witnessed. "Thank goodness for that." He sat down and crossed his legs, beckoning Nora and Velvet, who both waddled over and climbed onto his legs. "So, do you wanna know how many bounces you girls did?"

"Mmhmm!" Both Nora and Velvet nodded, looking into his eyes with theirs as wide as saucers.

"Well, at my count, you did one-hundred and thirty-six bounces, Nora." Ozpin finally said. "And, Glynda? How many bounces did Velvet do?"

"It was very hard to keep track of it all, but I also counted a total of one-hundred and thirty-six," Glynda said as she bent down and looked into Velvet's wide eyes. "Believe me, you bounced a lot of times, Velvet. I almost lost count."

"So..." Nora still didn't know what it meant. "Who won? Who did the most bounces?"

"Well, it's hard for me to say. You both did the same amount of bounces," Ozpin said. "That means you both tied."

"Tied?" Nora and Velvet chimed at the same time.

"When two people in a contest are tied, it means that there's no clear winner. It means that neither of you beat the other. You both got the same score."

"So... we both win?" Velvet asked.

"You could say that." Glynda patted Velvet on the head, which made her bunny ears flop a little. They straightened up once Glynda stopped. "It just now means that both of you have to try harder in the next games.

"They... both win?" Blake was the next to speak. "But... how do we find out who's the better bouncer?"

"Mommy used to do a thing like this whenever there was a tie. She always said something about do, do, duba..." He tried to find the word.

"Double?" Ozpin heard Fox's attempt and gave him the answer.

"Yeah! That's it! Double!" Fox pointed his finger dramatically at Ozpin. "We'll just have to double the last game! The super-high bounce!" As he said it, the other children spoke among themselves, trying to figure out what it all meant. "Whoever wins the last super-big bounce means that they win the bounce-off!"

"Oh... now I get it!" Weiss lifted a finger. "But we still get to see them do the race around the playground, right?"

"Yep." Fox nodded. "You hear that, girls? You still have to do the bounce race all around the playground too. For funsies!"

"Yay!" Nora threw her arms out to the side.

"But first, there's still one more thing we need to take care of," said Glynda. "It won't be playtime in the playground for a while yet. So, instead, let's move away from the contest for a second and have some art time. You can go back to bouncing afterwards." She laid her hands on both Nora and Velvet's shoulders. "I'm sure the rest of you can wait as well, right?"

"Yes, Glyndie." The children all spoke together. Then, immediately, they scampered off for some arts and crafts in the Art Area, with Nora and Velvet being the last ones to arrive at the table.

Now that they had been given some time to rest their little feet, Nora and Velvet sat next to each other. There were some crayons already laying within reach. Both girls reached out for the same crayon and when they noticed the other one's hand reaching for it, they gasped, stopped, and turned to face each other. Velvet blushed first, with Nora just letting a tiny, high-pitched giggle tumble out of her mouth. Velvet pulled her hand back and let Nora go for the crayon. Nora was rather flattered by Velvet's gesture and considered giving her the crayon instead as a sign of goodwill, but when she saw Velvet just give her that gentle grin, Nora took it as a sign to start scribbling away on the paper.

Pretty soon, the tranquillity of art time came into effect, with many of the children scrawling colours all over the paper with their many crayons, creating a bunch of pictures of random animals, objects, and other things. Nora and Velvet, on the other hand, were drawing a few things related to bouncing. Nora herself was drawing a picture of herself playing with a bouncy ball, while Velvet did a picture of herself, humming the tune of her happy dance to herself as she coloured her paper self in, shaking her rump very lightly at the last part of the tune in her head.

* * *

Time eventually passed and the kids were all let out to play. Glynda watched as all thirteen of the tiny tots sped out of the building and onto the playground. The climbing frames, bikes, seesaws, and other equipment scattered around were already catching their eyes and drawing their attention, but Nora and Velvet weren't swayed by any of it. They knew what was about to happen now. However, as they made their way towards the path that looped around the playground, they saw how much fun and glee the other kids were having. They were completely and utterly lost in the joy and merriment of it all. Sliding on slides, riding on see-saws and roundabouts, playing outdoor games, it was as if none of them even remembered that there was a bounce-off going on. Nora and Velvet felt their faces fall. That was until Fox noticed them and ran over to their side.

"Don't worry. I'm still here," he said. "I wanna see you keep playing in your bounce-off more than anyone, girls."

"Thankies, Foxie." Nora was about to reach over and hug him, but he just jumped backwards. He didn't want to feel like he was being crushed again.

"Y-you're welcome, Nora," he regained his composure. Then, he started to look around for something. Then, it caught his eye. "Wait right here." And like that, he sped off down the playground and grabbed onto a pair of orange space hoppers. It was a challenge for him to lug the two giant balls for how large they were compared to his tiny body. He had to walk very slowly so that the balls didn't go out of control. It was a challenge, but Fox eventually returned to Nora and Velvet with the space hoppers. "Th-there..." He laid them down, taking breaths as he tried to get his strength back.

"Ooh, are we gonna race on these?" Velvet asked as she took one of the space hoppers into her hands.

"Mmhmm. You two are gonna race around and around this playground. Three loops. That's how races work," he said. Then, fast as he could, he ran over to a blackboard on the wall and collected a piece of chalk. With it in his hands, he started to scribble a line on the ground. He made sure to make it big so that the girls could see it. "You start here, then bounce all around the place. Follow the path. All the way around." He used his finger to point the direction of the course for the girls.

"We can do that!" Nora could see the path as clear as day. "Let's play, Velvet!"

"Okie-Dokie, Nora." Velvet climbed onto her space hopper first. She saw Nora get onto hers afterwards. "Let's have a fun race. Okay?"

"Mmhmm." Nora nodded once more.

"Okay. There are three magic words I need to say to start the race." Fox stood in front of both the space-hopper bound girls and lifted his hand into the air. "Ready..."

Nora and Velvet both knew what was coming and gripped on tight to the handles of their hoppers.

"Set..."

Once the next word came, the race would be on. Fox took one last look at the group of kids who were still playing around with everything else around them. Oh well, at least they'd see the race and remember the bounce-off was still underway.

"GO!" Fox threw down his arm and ran out of the way, prompting both Nora and Velvet to start bouncing off on their hoppers across the path, over the starting line.

Nora and Velvet's bounces were very rhythmic. They were putting all of their strength into pushing off of the ground with their feet, while also trying their best to move their bodies forward to carry the momentum. Before long, the two of them picked up a rather hefty pace and they were both making good time, despite their sizes and the sizes of their hoppers. Because of the extra support they had, they didn't feel the aches and pains from their last contest this time, so could bounce around as much as they wanted. Which, for them, was a huge relief. Their last contest had been very strenuous on their tiny and still-growing muscles.

"This is fun!" Nora exclaimed as she bounced on and on, passing by all of the playground commodities on her race. She watched as Penny, Blake, and Yang were chasing each other and got onto the path. Nora was a little worried about bumping into the three of them, that was until they realised what was going on and scurried out of the way in time.

"Sorry! We're racing!" Velvet called back to the other kids, but in doing so, she had noticed that Nora had gained an advantage over her. She shook her head and picked up the pace once more, quickly accelerating back to Nora's side.

Once Yang realised what was happening, she started to chase after Nora and Velvet with a smile, leaving Blake and Penny behind. Penny was the next one to react and giddily ran after the two space hoppers. Meanwhile, Blake scampered over to the climbing frame to gather the attention of Yatsu, Coco, and Ruby. Then, they sped on over to get Weiss, Jaune, and Ren, with Fox bringing up the rear.

"You know, I can't get what Qrow said out of my head," Glynda spoke to Ozpin as she watched the children racing around the playground. "I mean, I know that we can handle all of the children just fine, but you do have to remember that this is thirteen different children; each from different families with different personalities. Say that we did need someone else to help out in this pre-school. Do you have any names that would come to mind?"

"I do, but he's a rather... curious case," Ozpin leaned forward. "Arthur Watts is his name, and the way that he operates, you wouldn't think that he would ever fit in with a place like this. He's very reserved and quite... how shall we say it, fancy? Not to mention, the last time we saw each other, he was handling his own child problem."

"Child problem?" Glynda repeated.

"Arthur has three children of his own. And they're rather rowdy. Not to mention, one of them's restless. There's a girl named Emerald Sustrai, a boy named Mercury Black, and a scorpion Faunus by the name of Tyrian," Ozpin explained. "Tyrian most of all, I have problems with. The last time I spoke with Ozpin, Tyrian was in a right state. He and Mercury got into a little bit of a strap and if Arthur hadn't leapt in to break it up, Tyrian would have done some real damage to Mercury."

"Damage?" Glynda gasped.

"Yes. And having Arthur would be a big help, but... at the same time, his children would be all alone." Ozpin pushed his glasses closer to his face. "Their mother, Cinder Fall, is quite an oddity. When I asked Arthur about where she was, he told me plain and simply that her work takes her all over the world of Remnant. And because of that, she rarely comes home to spend time with the children." Ozpin let out a rather deep sigh. "That's why he's their sole guardian. And quite a stoic one at that. If I were to bring him on board, I would be taking a risk. It would also mean adding Emerald, Mercury, and Tyrian. Emerald and Mercury I can see getting along just fine, but Tyrian would be the real challenge. Not only is he Faunus, but he's a scorpion. And let's not forget; he's a restless scorpion."

"Well, you always told me that every kid does have something to help them out." Glynda laid her hand on Ozpin's shoulders. "No matter who the kid is, there's always going to be a calming agent that helps them relax, or makes them feel better. This Tyrian might be rambunctious as you describe him, as well as slightly dangerous. But that doesn't mean he's not entirely out of control. Surely, Arthur has a way to keep him under control."

"Arthur does have his methods, I'm sure. Sadly, I wasn't there to witness it myself. I would have to ask him the next time I contact him." Ozpin watched as the race entered the final lap, with Nora and Velvet still neck and neck but only slightly. As it stood, both of them were a few inches ahead, then back to being level pegging. "Let's save this for another time, Glynda. I'm rather interested in seeing how Nora and Velvet do in this race."

"Alright, Ozpin." Glynda returned her focus to the race, the merriment of the children in her ears putting her at ease almost immediately. All the talk about Arthur and his kids was immediately gone as her smile began to blossom again.

"It's close!" Ruby squeaked as the finish line grew closer and closer. It was a total stampede behind both Nora and Velvet with the kids all scuffling and trying their best to overtake the opposition. Not that Ruby had any issue, because she was staying ahead of the child crowd by a few inches.

The race finally came to the homestretch with both Nora and Velvet putting as much of their energy as they could in trying to cross the line. The bounces got more intense as both of the kids bounced harder than possible, not only to gain more height but also some more distance. Now, they were speeding down the path. Again, first place was shifting, but there was a more clear indication who was going to take it. Velvet tried her very best to bounce, but her energy couldn't match up to Nora. Nora was an energetic kid by heard and she was putting that to good use. With all of her strength, Nora sped over the line first.

"I win! I win!" Nora announced in delight, forgetting just how much she had been bouncing. She lost control and flopped off of the ball, tumbling onto her side onto a patch of artificial grass.

"Nora!" Velvet stopped bouncing and ran off of her space hopper to Nora's side. That tumble looked rather nasty, even for someone like her. "Are you alright?"

Nora wasn't crying or hunched over in pain like Velvet had been expecting. Instead, Nora was completely devoid of injury and was instead just laughing some more, arms and legs flailing around. Not a single word could escape her mouth as she finally got back up onto her feet, brushing herself down. Finally, she calmed down and looked into Velvet's eyes. "That was so, so super-duper fun!" She exclaimed, jumping on the spot. "Let's play again!"

"Thank goodness..." Velvet let out a sigh of relief at Nora's joy. "You know, we've still got some time left to play before we go back inside, so why don't we go and play something else for a while?"

"Okay!" Nora stopped jumping and looked into Velvet's eyes with a glimmer in her own.

With their bonds starting to grow, Nora and Velvet ran off towards the nearest see-saw. Nora took the first seat while Velvet went over to the other side and pulled down the other end, which elevated Nora at the same time. She sat down on the end now that it was pulled down and pushed off of the ground with her feet. Now, she was the raised one as Nora came back down to earth. Velvet grinned as she rocketed upward, watching as Nora rather quickly mirrored her moves, pushing her end off with her feet.

This went back and forth, causing the see-saw to rise and fall over and over. Nora went up, then she went down. And when she went down, Velvet was lifted. And vice versa. It was another game that required the girls to use their legs, but unlike their competitions, this was all for fun. Now that they weren't competing for the title or glory of being the best bouncy kid, they could enjoy themselves. And enjoy themselves they did, as the see-saw swayed over and over. Up and down, down and up, it was almost autonomous for both girls. And with every single swing, both Nora and Velvet looked into the other's eyes and felt a fuzzy sensation inside themselves. It was almost as if they had known each other for the longest time, even though it had only been a couple of days for both of them. They knew that they'd stay friends even after this whole thing was over. And it made them feel at ease.

* * *

Time had passed since Nora and Velvet's space hopper race and the two of them had just finished up storytime with Glynda. It had been a rather wonderful reading of a classic story: Goldilocks and the Three Bears. And now, the kids were all starting to feel drowsy again. So, once again, they all took their spots back in the Sleep Spot, finding the first pillows and blankets that they could. This time, however, Nora and Velvet were sleeping next to each other. Both of them laid their heads on the pillows and shared a look.

"When we wake up, we've got the last bounce-off game," Velvet whispered. "The big jump!" She made little exploding motions with her hands.

"Okay, but mommy always tells me that I can jump REALLY high," Velvet also whispered as she lifted her arm as high as it would go. "I can even jump as high as the ceiling if I want."

"Really?" Nora blinked. "I wanna jump that high too!"

"You'll do great, Nora." Velvet grinned.

The Cuddle Buddies were all handed out once again. Like before, the children had all taken the same plushies as before, including Nora's teddy bear and Velvet's bunny. Nora held the bear gently against her body while Velvet did the same with her plushie bunny. Together, the two of them nodded off quickly, while the others took their time to sleep. Both Nora and Velvet had the idea in their heads that if they could sleep and wake up first, then they'd be able to get to their final bounce-off event quicker.

In the world of their dreams, both Nora and Velvet dreamt of different things. For Nora, she dreamed that she could fly and that the clouds were made out of pink cotton candy to match the colour of her skirt. As for Nora, she was scurrying across a glade with candy as far as the eye could see. The one difference was that instead of dreaming these dreams alone, they instead had manifested the other into their worlds. Nora was travelling her dreams with Velvet, and Velvet was traversing her dreams with Nora. And in both instances, it was a rather welcome change, as the two of them did nothing but giggle in their many escapades and adventures in the dream world.

Time seemed to fly for both Nora and Velvet. So much so that, in actuality, when the time came for them to wake up again, they were up first instead of all of the other kids. They climbed out of their blankets and tiptoed as quietly as they could out of the Sleep Spot, trying to find the best place to try and do their final contest before the others woke up and crowded the place.

"Hmm..." Nora looked left and right, checking each of the areas carefully to see which would give her and Velvet the most room, while also catering to the audience of kids who would want to come and see them competing. As colourful and vibrant the Play Place looked, there were far too many toys littered around and it would be more likely that they hurt themselves trying to bounce if they landed in the wrong spot. The Art Area also seemed interesting, but all of the bouncings could have spilt the supplies, causing a mess that would make Glyndie and Ozzie very upset with her. "What do you think, Velvet? Where should we bounce?"

"I dunno, Nora..." Velvet was in the same dilemma that Nora was in. They also couldn't jump in the Sleep Spot, because the rest of the kids were sleeping there, and the noise would have surely woken them up. The only other option that she could see was the Story Square. Now, she had to hope that she and Nora weren't able to dislodge the books with their jumps. "How about there?" She pointed it out.

"Yeah... It looks perfect!" Nora could see how tidy the Story Square was. There was nothing on the ground, no chairs for them to knock over save for the big one used by the teachers, and all of the books were stored safely and securely on the bookcases. She was just about to bounce when she looked back over at the other kids. "But, uh... what about the others? And what about Foxie? He was the one who wanted us to play."

"We can just do this as practice," Velvet whispered. "After all, if nobody can hear us, then it doesn't count, right?"

"Yeah. I guess so." Nora smiled. "Okay. Let's do it, then!"

The two of them laughing under their breaths, they quietly made their way over to the Story Square, found some open space, then bent their knees as much as they could. With one powerful push off of the ground, Velvet leapt for the ceiling, arms reaching out as high as they could as she giddily came falling back down to the ground, air rushing around her during her descent. She had jumped rather high, to the point where her neck just reached the top of the bookshelves. Nora finally jumped up as well, putting some real force behind her push. She also went high. And just like Velvet, her neck reached the height of the bookshelves. They were just about equal.

"That was pretty high, Nora." Velvet clasped her hands. "Now, can we go even higher?"

"Yes, we can!" Nora exclaimed, and coiled herself into the ready position again, along with Velvet.

Both kids pushed off of the ground again, but this time, they went even higher. Now, their shoulders just exceeded the height of the top of the bookcases. They saw the improvement and they smiled over it. They knew that they could go higher. So they got ready for one more practice jump and leapt as high as ever they could. Their arms rocketing into the air along with their bodies, both Nora and Velvet jumped so high that their chests were now as high up as the bookcases. With that last bounce, they came crashing back down onto their feet. Now, they were ready for the last contest.

"Oh, before everyone wakes up, I wanna do something," Nora said, and she went back to the Sleep Spot. She took both her bear and Velvet's bunny and brought them over. "They're such good friends, they should see this too," said Nora as she sat both of the lifeless toys gently on the ground. "There we go. Perfect."

Velvet had to admit that seeing the sight of her Cuddle Buddy there did make her heart swoon. Now, with the companionship of her human friend and her toy friend, Velvet thought that she would be able to do her very best at anything. Now, all that she had to do was to wait for everyone else to wake up.

Sure enough, some high-pitched moans and coos could be heard as one by one, the children were woken up by Ozpin and Glynda gently nudging and shaking them. They all got out of their blankets and noticed that Nora and Velvet had already gotten out first. Rubbing their eyes, they looked around and saw that both Nora and Velvet were already set up in the Story Square ready to do the last game of their bounce-off.

"Ooh! Is it time for the last game?" Ruby asked as she ran to the spot.

"I think it is!" Coco squeaked as she toddled her way over.

"Nora! Velvet! Good luck!" Jaune called as he came along as well.

The kids were all gathered around Nora and Velvet, starting to cheer for them. Both girls gave their 'fans' a wave, making sure to bring both of their Cuddle Buddies closer so that they didn't get trampled. Fox broke through the children and took his place in front of Nora and Velvet.

"Hello, everyone. It's time for the last game of Nora and Velvet's bounce-off. The super-duper high jump!"

"Whoa..." The other kids all said at the same time as each other.

"Nora and Velvet only get one jump. But, they can make it the biggest jump they've ever done!" Fox threw his arms out to the side to try and make it seem more exciting. Then, he turned on the balls of his feet and saw that Nora and Velvet were already crouched. "And it looks like they're ready to go. So, first, Velvet jumps!"

Velvet gave a nod.

"And now, it's quiet time. Velvet needs to concentrate so that the bouncy fairies help her bounce high." Fox made motions with his hands that made it look like he was pushing the air down. His actions made everyone stop talking as all their gazes turned to Velvet.

"I can do this..." Velvet whispered to herself. However, seeing everyone's eyes focused on her was enough to dissuade her ever so slightly. They were peering into her. Judging her. They were watching every move that she was making. For someone so small, who didn't know how to handle things, there was only one thing that she could do. She closed her eyes and started to talk to herself. "Hippity-hoppity, bunny-oo. I've got a happy dance for you..." She told herself, regaining her composure. "Jump around... bouncing through the air!"

Velvet threw herself from the ground, opening her eyes wide as she made it to the top of her jump. She could see that she had jumped so high that her little tummy was now level with the bookcase's apex. It was the highest she had jumped that day. As she came back down to the ground, she finished off with "Then you shake your de-ri-ere!" Complete by turning her butt to the crowd and giving it a little wiggle.

The children gave Velvet a huge round of applause and congratulated her on such a mighty leap. But as they revelled in her success, Nora was now feeling the pressure. It was her turn to jump. And once the cheering had subsided, all eyes were now fixated on her. Nora had to make a really big jump if she wanted to outdo what Velvet had just done. Unlike Velvet, however, Nora wasn't broken down by the thought of everyone looking at her. Instead, she thought about something else.

She thought about the sky. About birds. About planes. About stars. Anything and everything that was high up in the air. She was going to jump up and bring them back down to earth as a prize. Nora took a deep breath, then another. And then, it happened. Putting every last ounce of energy she had into her feet, Nora finally did her jump. And a jump it was, as she left the ground like a spring. She jumped so high in fact, that she not only managed to match Velvet's jump, but she also exceeded it. As now, Nora's feet were on the same level as the bookshelf's top. As she fell back down to earth, she tried to land on her feet, but because of how hard she came down, she ended up bouncing backwards, straight into the big chair that Glynda and Ozpin used. She collided hard with the upholstery, but she didn't feel any significant impact.

"I'm okay!" Nora threw her arms into the air, which brought on another wave of cheers from the children as she got back off of the chair at last. They were also chanting her name as she returned to Velvet's side. As Nora basked in the praise, she wrapped her arm around Velvet's shoulders, pulling her into a shoulder hug.

"Nora wins!" Nora wins! went Pyrrha as she too threw her arms up into the air.

"Hooray for Nora!" Weiss added.

"Don't forget about Velvet. She did her bestest too," Nora said, turning her gaze to Velvet. "Thanks, Velvet. That was the most fun I've had, ever!"

Velvet stifled one last giggle. "You're welcome, Nora. You're a very good bouncer, aren't you?"

"Mmhmm! I'm the bounciest bouncy girl in the whole pre-school!" Nora exclaimed, making one final jump for joy into the air. When she landed, the other kids scattered off to their respective areas, leaving Nora and Velvet all to their own. "So, what do ya wanna do now, Velvet?"

"Hmm... How about we make something special?" Velvet gestured back over to the Art Area. "Something that'll help us remember this bounce-off."

"Sounds like fun! I'm in!" And with that, Nora sped off back to the Art Area with Velvet in tow.

The day was winding down to its' last moments, with the children all getting in their last few minutes of playtime before their parents and other guardians came to pick them up. For Nora and Velvet, they were both sitting next to each other, sharing the same piece of paper, scrawling colours and other such designs onto it. With each stroke of crayon colour, every single detail added in, the picture came more and more to life. Until at last, Nora and Velvet drew themselves into the picture, both smiling and holding hands. Underneath it, there was a caption, drawn in with all the colours of the rainbow. It read "Nora and Velvet: Bouncy Buddies Forever." Their names were also scribbled into the corners of their masterpiece, but they were much smaller.

"Ozzie! Glyndie! Look what we made!" Nora was the one who raised her arm to attract the attention of both Ozpin and Glynda, who both came over to see what it was.

"What is it, Nora?" Ozpin asked as she snatched the paper from the table.

"Look! Look! It's me and Velvet!" Nora beamed as she held the picture out to both of the adults.

"We're Bouncy Buddies Forever!" Velvet added, tapping on the caption with her fingers.

"It suits you, doesn't it?" Glynda tousled Nora's hair and patted Velvet on the head affectionately. "Two little bunnies, hopping around the pre-school together."

"Silly Glyndie. There's only one bunny. And that's me!" Velvet patted her chest. "I'm the bunny."

"No, Velvet. There are two bunnies here. An actual bunny, and someone who bounces like one." He said, booping Nora on the nose. Then, he took the drawing and added one last little detail onto it. A pair of bunny ears on Nora's head. "Isn't that right, Nora?" He asked, showing Nora the updated picture. "You're the other bunny in this pre-school."

"Me?" Nora gasped, her pupils shrinking in awe as she took a hold of the new picture.

"Yes. Yes, you are. You two are not only Bouncy Buddies Forever. You're Bouncy _Bunny_ Buddies Forever." Ozpin grinned as he patted both of the girls' shoulders.

As Nora put the paper back onto the table, both of them looked at each other, gasped, and then cheered. "We're Bouncy Bunny Buddies Forever!" Both Velvet and Nora grabbed each other's hands and bounced up and down, cheering with glee. They were so enthralled by it all that they didn't even notice Glynda putting their new masterpiece on the wall, ready to be seen and admired for months to come.

"Yes. So why don't you play together, as all Bouncy Bunny Buddies Forever do?" Ozpin asked, giving them a gentle pat on the back.

"Okie-Dokie, Ozzie!" Nora and Velvet spoke together, then bounced off as if they were bunnies towards the rest of the school. Now, with their bonds growing more and more, Nora and Velvet knew that their friendship would only get bigger and bigger, just as big as their jumps, bounces, and various other springs, leaps, and vaults would.


	8. Pouty Pyrrha

It was another day at the Beacon Pre-School. The children were all playing their games as normal, but with some slight changes around. For once, Blake and Yatsu had decided to play with Nora and Ruby, while Fox and Velvet were reading books with Jaune and Yang. Penny, Weiss, Coco, and Velvet were all making things using popsicle sticks and glue at the Art Area. It seemed that, all around, there was serendipity and peace. Everyone was having fun and enjoying the day.

All, except one.

Pyrrha Nikos was feeling different that day to all of the other kids. While most of them were vibrant, playful, and smiling, she was just standing there, in the middle of the room, watching them all revel. Her arms were folded and her shoulders slumped. A pout could be seen on her face, with her cheeks puffed up and her mouth adorning a frown. Even as she was wearing her favourite clothes; being a white and marmalade-colored shirt with a red, frilly skirt at her waistline, she was still pouting.

Her little charade didn't go unnoticed, either. As during one of Ruby's games, she noticed Pyrrha's unhappiness. All of a sudden, she stopped running, letting Blake slap her on the back. She didn't even care that Blake had called her 'It' behind her back. She was more focused on Pyrrha. So, she waddled up to Pyrrha, reached out for her arms and said, "Pyrrha? Why are you grumpy?"

"I'm not grumpy. I'm pouty," Pyrrha replied quickly, turning to face Ruby. "Mommy says being grumpy is different than being pouty. Because grumpy people are meanies."

"What's pouty mean?" Ruby asked. "Mommy, daddy, and Uncle Qrow never get pouty..."

"Mommy tells me that pouty means you're sad about something and nobody wants to listen to you," Pyrrha explained, tipping her hand, if only briefly.

"What are you pouty about?" Went Ruby's next question as she moved her hand closer to Pyrrha's cheeks. "And how can I make you not pouty?"

"What do you m—"

"Mommy always does this to me whenever I feel sad. So it's going to make you feel happy too!" Ruby jabbed her hands to Pyrrha's puffed up cheeks and played around with them, pulling them left to right, making sound effects with her own mouth as she played with Pyrrha's to imitate her. "Isn't widdle Pyrrha so cute? With her chubby-wubby cheekies? Yes she is! Chubby-Wubby always cheers me and Yang back up at home. It'll cheer you up too!"

Even though she was pouty, Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle at Ruby's antics. Her cheeks were just putty in Ruby's hands and she couldn't help herself. Her arms loosened up and flailed around as her cheeks were helpless to Ruby's assault. Once Ruby stopped, however, Pyrrha's laugher winded down, until at last, only the frown remained.

"Thank you, Ruby, but... I'm still pouty..." Pyrrha's eyes shuffled around as she looked to the floor, cheeks puffing up again as her arms returned to their folded position.

Ruby started to feel worried. If even the most chubbiest-wubbiest of games wouldn't be able to fix Pyra's sadness, then what more could she do by herself? Ruby turned back to Nora, Blake, and Yatsu, tapping on each of their shoulders one by one. "Uh... I think Pyrrha's upset." She pointed to the pouty Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha's sad?" Blake noticed Pyrrha's poutiness, dropped the cat tail that she had been playing around with, and hurried over to see what was wrong. "But why are you sad, Pyrrha?"

"I dunno." Pyrrha just shrugged. "And I'm not sad. Being sad means that I'm crying or sniffling," she explained. "I'm pouty."

"It's where nobody wants to listen to you," Ruby explained. "That's what Pyrrha told me."

"But... we're listening to you, Pyrrha. So, does that mean you can stop being pouty?" Yatsu asked, hearing the conversation clearly from the sidelines. He stopped stacking the blocks that he had been working with and scuttled over to the other kids.

"N-no..." Pyrrha shook her head. "There's something else. But I... I don't remember what it is."

"Then that's good, right?" Ruby blinked, shrugging her shoulders.

"No. It's not good, Ruby. It means I'm sad about something and I don't know how to stop feeling sad about it." Pyrrha tipped her hand to Ruby and the other kids.

"And I already tried Chubby-Wubby on her, so I don't know what else to do." Ruby's face flopped slightly. "Chubby-Wubby always makes people happy. Uncle Qrow plays it with me and Yang all the time at home and we always, ALWAYS giggle."

"Chubby-Wubby? What's that?" Nora tilted her head at Ruby. "And if it's super fun, then why didn't Pyrrha like it?"

And immediately, Ruby turned to face Nora. And then, she grabbed her cheeks and started to play with them, putting on her silly voice. "This is Chubby-Wubby, Nora! The most fun game you can play with a face ever! Isn't it the bestest-best game ever? Yes it is!" She babbled as she smooshed, stretched, and generally shifted Nora's flabby cheeks.

Nora was completely gone. No longer could words escape her mouth. Instead, she could only laugh as she was subjected to the might of Ruby's fabled Chubby-Wubby. And as she laughed, Ruby laughed as well. Their laughter was rather contagious, as it managed to make both Yatsu and Blake laugh as well. Even Pyrrha, for as pouty as she had been, couldn't help but spare a chuckle or two at the sight of Ruby and Nora playing Ruby's game. But that laughter was short-lived as Pyrrha tried to think about what made her sad in the first place. And that made her pout even more.

"Chubby-Wubby!" Nora exclaimed, as she used her own hands to play with Ruby's face in return. The two of them were still giggling giddily; completely forgetting about the world around them.

"Doesn't it make you happy, Pyrrha?" Blake asked, stepping next to Pyrrha. "To see such a fun new game like Chubby-Wubby?"

"It does look like a lot of fun. And I was happy when Ruby played Chubby-Wubby with me, but..." Pyrrha sighed. "I don't know what made me sad in the first place. And now I'm sad because I don't know."

"Then we need to make her not sad! It's not right for Pyrrha to be sad like that..." Ruby twiddled her fingers as she looked worried about Pyrrha. "Uncle Qrow told me that if she's super-sad like this, then she'll attract all the meanie monsters. The Grimm!"

"Oh no!" The group of kids now showed their concern as well, looking at the still-pouting Pyrrha.

"What are we gonna do?" Nora asked. "I don't want Pyrrha to get gobbled up by those nasty, nasty monsters. She's too cuddly and cute to eat!" Defensively, she brought Pyrrha into a protective hug, looking around for the aforementioned Grimm.

"Ozzie! Ozzie!" Blakescampered towards Ozpin and Glynda, waving her little hands. "Ozzie! Come quick! It's horrible!"

"What is it, Blake?" Ozpin asked, bending his legs down to bring his eyes level to Blake's. "I heard you and your friends all let out a chorus of 'oh no's, so I can only assume the worst."

"It's Pyrrha! She's gone pouty. And pouty means that she's super sad! And we don't know what to do about it!" Blake tried her best to explain as politely as she could, but as far as she was concerned, this was an emergency. The Grimm were mean monsters that fed off of sadness. So Pyrrha's poutiness was sure to bring them running; just like how she always ran to her favourite soft toy whenever she was upset about something. "Please come and help! I don't want the Grimm to come to her!"

"Hmm... That is a bit of a predicament." Ozpin brought his fingers to his face. He knew from experience that the Grimm were among the deadliest of creatures in Remnant; especially for his class. He couldn't risk letting them come to his humble little pre-school; let alone Beacon as a whole. "Well, if Pyrrha is feeling pouty, then that must mean something's wrong with her. Have you tried asking her about it?"

"Mmhmm." Blake let out a weak nod. "But she said she doesn't remember. And now that's making her even more pouty!"

"Well, you did the right thing talking to me about it, Blake." Ozpin tousled her little hair and looked over towards Pyrrha. "Me and Glynda will do our best to see what's making her sad. In the meantime, I have an idea that might help get her smile back."

"Oh?" Blake tilted her head as her eyes went wide.

"If Pyrrha is feeling sad, the best thing that you can do is play your favourite games or use your favourite things with her," said Ozpin. "Surely, if there's something that you really, really enjoy doing, then there's something that she'll love out of all of it too. That's how I always got better when I was your age in pre-school."

"So while you and the other kids try your best to give her a smile, we'll be trying our best to see what's making her so pouty," Glynda added, also squatting down to Blake's height. "Don't worry your little heads too much about it. And if the Grimm come for you, then leave them to us. We know how to deal with them too."

"Okie-dokie..." Blake didn't seem too sure about it, but she knew that she could always trust Ozzie and Glyndie. Sighing, she went back to the other kids in the Play Place. Now, she had some kind of plan to try and make Pyrrha stop being so pouty.

Blake, Ozpin, and Glynda all came over to see Pyrrha. As the grown-ups tended to Pyrrha, Blakemade gestures with her arms, bringing the other kids into a huddle.

"So, what do we do, Blake?" Ruby asked, being the first one to break the silence in the huddle.

"Ozzie and Glyndie are talking to Pyrrha right now. So they'll find out what's making her super-sad," Blake begun to explain to the others. "Ozzie did tell me something. He said that, in order to make Pyrrha happy again, we need to do our favourite things with her. And not just us; but everyone here too!"

"But how will it make Pyrrha happy?" Yatsu asked. "Pyrrha likes what Pyrrha likes. How will our favourite things make her happy?"

"Yeah. They make us really, really happy. But how will they make Pyrrha feel?" Nora asked, looking over to Pyrrha, who was politely talking to both Ozpin and Glynda about her situation.

"Well, I already played Chubby-Wubby and that made her happy," Ruby lifted a finger. "But then, she got sad again."

"So, who plays next?" Yatsu asked.

"Me! Me! Me! I'll make Pyrrha really happy!" Nora raised her little arms.

"Okay. Have fun, Nora." Blake watched as Nora hurried away from the huddle and stood in waiting while Ozzie and Glyndie kept on talking.

"I hope that helps you remember, Pyrrha." Ozpin gave her a pat on the back.

"Me too, Ozzie. It's not fun being pouty," Pyrrha replied, then looked back to see that Nora was standing there waiting for her. "Oh! Hi, Nora." She gave Nora a little wave. "What are you doing?"

"I wanna play with you, silly!" Nora put on a smile and thought of the most fun thing that she liked doing. Which, for her, was a challenge, because there was so much fun stuff that Nora liked doing. Eventually, she saw a pair of small trampolines with handles; the perfect size for kids like her and Pyrrha. "Come with me!" Nora held out her hand and Pyrrha grabbed it. Then, squealing, Nora ran to the small trampolines with Pyrrha.

"Trampoline?" Pyrrha looked at the little trampolines with a raised brow.

"The bestest thing in the world is to bounce so high that you feel like you're flying!" Nora was already on her trampoline, bouncing as high as she could, throwing her arms out into the air. "When I grow up, I wanna bounce and fly so high that all the meanies below are gonna wish they were me!" She jumped higher and higher with each successive bounce. It got to the point where she was bouncing so high that she was higher than the top of Ozpin and Glynda's heads. "C'mon, Pyrrha! Bounce with me!"

"Okay then." Pyrrha got onto her trampoline and held onto the handles with her stumpy little arms. She bounced to build up a good rhythm, then got higher and higher. She was starting to gain some height, but she still weighed herself down with the handles. She kept her focus on Nora, who was still giggling wildly as she bounced up and down on the trampoline; her jump height still quite high. But then again, that was to be expected; since she had played that Bounce-Off with Velvet.

"Come on, Pyrrha! Bounce super high like me!" Nora encouraged, bouncing harder on the trampoline.

Pyrrha watched just how high Nora was going and was in awe. Could she really jump as high as that? She summed up the courage, and let go of the handles. Pyrrha put all of the force into her feet as she came back down onto the trampoline, getting higher and higher with each bounce, if only by small margins. She was starting to catch up to Nora, bouncing higher than the units that separated the Play Place from the Art Area. As she came back down, she did have to admit that it was rather fun to go that high, and sure enough, she started to smile again. She kept bouncing more and more in the hopes that it would take away her worries.

"See? Isn't it fun?" Nora asked as she saw just how high Pyrrha was bouncing.

"Y-yeah, it is." Pyrrha was unsure about how happy she was, but at least she was smiling. Then, she realized that she still didn't know what she was doing and ended up slowing down. Her bounces got lighter and lighter, until at last, she got off of the trampoline. And when she got off, she watched as Nora slowed down and came to a stop.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Nora asked, grabbing onto the handles to control herself. "You said it was fun..."

"I did, but bouncing won't help me remember why I was so pouty, Nora. I'm sorry." Pyrrha shook her head, guiltily twiddling her fingers together.

"Aww..." Nora came off as well. "Not even a teeny-weeny tiny bit?"

"No." Pyrrha shook her head.

"Well, I tried," said Nora. "But it's okay. We'll stop you from being pouty and sad, Pyrrha. And we'll stop those meanie Grimm from coming to do nasty things to you." She gave Pyrrha a pat on the shoulder. "I super-duper pinky-promise!" And as she sad it, she locked her pinky finger around Pyrrha's pinky finger. "See? Now, because I've super-duper pinky promised, that means I have to do my best, or you'll be even more sad."

"Oh. Okay then..." Pyrrha didn't know what to think with her pinky finger locked around Nora's pinky finger. But if Nora said that she was going to try her very best, then that was all that really mattered.

"Why don't we play together now, Pyrrha?" Blake asked, tapping Pyrrha on the shoulder. "I've got something super fun that I always like doing," she said as Pyrrha turned to face her.

"And what's that, Blake?" Pyrrha asked.

"Hiding!" Blake threw her arms out to the side, took Pyrrha's hand and walked her around the class for a good place to hide. She checked every nook and cranny of the Play Place, Art Area, Story Square, and Sleep Spot for somewhere that nobody would be able to find her or Pyrrha. As they had been looking around, the other kids had gone back to their various activities and games, meaning that they could take their hiding space without anyone following them.

"What are we looking for, Blake?" Pyrrha asked softly.

"Somewhere for us to hide." Blake explained, tipping her other hand. "When I'm at home, I love playing hide and seek with my mommy and daddy. And I'm the best hider ever! Mommy and daddy usually never find me until it's time for dinner," she said.

"But... where can we hide here?" Pyrrha was looking around the class. It was very bright, full of colours, and everything was in a clear view where people could see with relative ease.

"Hmm..." Blake had to stop and think about it for a second. Pyrrha was right. The room was very bright, and they stood out among the many colours. Especially Blake with her black bow. She needed to find a good place to hide that as well as the rest of her. At last, something crossed her eyes and she let out a gasp. "There!" She pointed out a small gap between the fort and the wall. Sniggering, she scurried over toward it. "Come on, Pyrrha!" She motioned for Pyrrha to come and follow her.

Pyrrha decided to indeed follow after Blake into the little hidey-hole. Both toddlers squirmed into the hole and hid themselves away from the rest of the kiddies around the pre-school. She had to admit that, in the darkness she did feel a little bit scared. But Blake was there to hold her hands. With Blake's touch, Pyrrha felt a little bit safer. But she didn't feel better. She was still pouting, but this time, she was pouting about how she had been made upset over hiding like this.

"You don't like it?" Blake asked, looking at Pyrrha's face, still lit up by the light outside. "I'm sorry, Pyrrha..."

"No, no. Thank you for trying, Blake." Pyrrha let another sigh slip her lips. "But I don't know how to not be pouty." She crawled out of the hiding space and showed herself to the pre-school once again.

"Well, if you're upset, then you just need to feel happy, right?" Yatsu was the next one to try his hand at trying to cheer Pyrrha up. "Something that always makes me happy is to try and think about happy things. So, what kind of things make you happy, Pyrrha?"

"Well..." Pyrrha decided to close her eyes and try to picture the things that she liked. "My mommy takes me to the zoo and I like seeing the lions there. With their big, fluffy manes and their mighty roars." She let out a playful lion-roar, arching her head towards the ceiling.

Yatsu took the time to run around to see if he could find Pyrrha something that was relating to a lion. He eventually found a lion stuffie and raced back to Pyrrha with it. Once she opened her eyes, she saw that he was offering her the plush animal for her to cuddle with.

"Aww, Yatsu..." Pyrrha took the lion plushie and held it close to herself, cooing gently as she pressed the furry feline against her body tenderly. "Thank you." She gave him a smile.

"You're welcome." Yatsu gave Pyrrha a gentle smile at her smile. He thought for sure that this would be the cure to Pyrrha's pout. And as he watched Pyrrha playing around with the stuffed lion, he felt more and more assured that she had been cured.

Then, all of that was shattered when, even with the lion in her possession, Pyrrha's face fell back to its' pout again. He groaned internally, upset that even with seeing Pyrrha's big smile over receiving the stuffed lion, that nothing was going to fix her pout. "You're still pouting..." Yatsu grumbled. "Why can't you not be sad, Pyrrha? Did some meanie hurt you really badly the other day?"

"N-no, Yatsu. I don't remember. And I don't feel any ouchies on my body." Pyrrha felt herself up and down for any of the aforementioned marks left behind by a 'meanie'. "I just don't know why I'm sad."

"Then I don't know how to make you happy. And that makes me sad too." Yatsu puffed up his cheeks and hung his head to the ground. "Please get happy soon, Pyrrha. It's not nice to be sad all the time."

"I'll... try." Pyrrha couldn't bear to see her friends getting sad one by one. Now that she could see how upset Yatsu was, she needed to find a way to stop being so pouty and fast, before she infected the rest of the kids with her sadness.

* * *

The children were all outside, and now, Pyrrha had gathered around with Weiss, Coco, Yang, and Velvet; all of which had been told the story of Pyrrha's poutiness and wanted to help her try and find her smile again. They had been told from the other kids what to do in order to try and make her smile again and had thought about what made them really happy.

"So, you're really, really pouty?" Weiss asked, looking at Pyrrha's frown. "Well, that won't do now, will it?"

"This always works. You know how it goes, Pyrrha." Velvet tapped Pyrrha on the shoulder, then did her always-uplifting Happy Dance. "Hippity-Hoppity, bunny boo! I've got a happy dance for you! Jump around, bouncing through the air! Then you shake your derriere!"

Pyrrha giggled, applauding with her tiny hands. "Yeah! That'll definitely work!" Pyrrha's eyes glinted with hope. If the happiness dance made Velvet happy, then it was sure to make her happy too. She wriggled her butt and tried to copy everything that Velvet had been doing. "Hippity-Hoppity, bunny-boo! I've got a happy dance for you!" Pyrrha started. Despite not being able to jump as high as Velvet or get the moves exactly right, she was trying her very best. "Jump around, bouncing through the air, then you shake your derriere!" She shook her butt to finish off, then ended up toppling backwards onto said butt.

"So... do you feel better?" Velvet asked, looking at the seated Pyrrha with a tilted head. "The happiness dance always makes me feel better; no matter how sad I am. And if it makes me happy, then it should make you happy too!"

"It is a bouncy, happy, bunny dance." Pyrrha nodded as she stood back up. "But... it's a dance for you, Velvet. Your mommy told you that dance to make _you_ happy; not me."

"Bu-bu-bu-but it's a happy dance! It makes anyone happy!" Velvet threw her arms out, then pulled Pyrrha into a tight, restrictive hug. "C'mon, Pyrrha. Be happy..."

"V-velvet..." Pyrrha couldn't help but gasp for air as Velvet's tight hug squeezed it out of her. "I... can't breathe."

Velvet let out a shocked gasp and freed Pyrrha from her hug, watching as Pyrrha limply fell to the ground. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" She started to wail, shedding some tears at how she had hurt Pyrrha like that. "I just wanted you to be happy, and now, we're both sad!" She let the tears flow, falling onto her rump.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. Please don't cry..." Pyrrha reached over for the sobbing Velvet and tried to make her feel better. "I want you to be happy."

"Bu-bu-but, you're still pouty..." Velvet moaned, trying to push Pyrrha's cheeks up. "Your pouty Pyrrha face is making me sad. Please don't be a pouty Pyrrha..."

"I know what'll definitely make you feel happy. Some nice flowers!" Weiss said, and almost before Pyrrha took her hands off of Velvet, Weiss pulled her along as fast as her teeny little body could. Both little girls scampered together, until at last, they found themselves staring at a wall with cartoon flowers scribbled all over it. "Like these ones!"

"Uh..." Pyrrha looked at the flowers on the wall, trying to find what Weiss was seeing in them. She didn't feel the same level of affection towards flowers as she did. "I don't get it, Weiss. What's so special about these?"

"They're pretty, aren't they?" Weiss remarked, turning her focus to Pyrrha. "Mommy always told me that flowers are the most wonderful thing in the world. And no matter what flowers they are, they'll always make me feel happy. That's why I always make them at home. My favourites are the snowdrops." She giggled. "What are your favourite flowers, Pyrrha?"

"Um... well..." Pyrrha looked around the colourful wall of painted flowers. To be honest, she didn't know how to respond to Weiss's question. They all just looked like normal flowers to her, just in different colours. Pyrrha tilted her head curiously, trying to see what Weiss saw in it all. But when nothing came to mind, Pyrrha's face flopped again. "I dunno, Weiss. Sorry."

"Why don't I help you?" Weiss looked around for a flower that Pyrrha would like the best. She looked back and forth between Pyrrha and the wall to see what colours she wore and if there were any matching colours on the wall. "Uh... Um... What about this one?" She pointed towards a flower with red leaves and a golden centre; the same kind of colours that were in Pyrrha's hair and on her clothes. "The Pyrrha-Flower! With your colours!"

"The... Pyrrha-Flower?" Pyrrha blinked and looked at the flower Weiss was pointing out. Sure enough, it did bear the same colours that she did. That being said, it still blended in with the other flowers on the wall. "It's just a flower."

"No. It's a special flower just for you." Weiss had an idea. "The best thing about the Pyrrha-Flower is that it always grows, never loses its' colour, and always makes you happy. Not many other flowers can do that." Weiss explained, trying her best to give Pyrrha some faith that would help get rid of her poutiness.

"R-really?" Pyrrha cocked a brow. "Wow..." She looked back at the flower one more time and viewed it with Weiss's words in mind. "Wow..." Pyrrha imagined the magic of the Pyrrha-Flower and started to feel soothed by it. Soothed, but not cleared of her poutiness. Her pout came back after a while, but she still had faith in the power of her flower. Waddling over, she placed her palm on the yellow centre of the flower and closed her eyes for a few moments. She then turned back to the other kids. "What else?"

"I've got a good idea!" Coco lifted her teeny finger up. "Something that me and my mommy play all the time whenever I'm at home! Follow me!" And with that, she darted off towards the climbing frame. Pyrrha gave chase after her. Now, it was Coco's turn to take up the mantle in trying to fix Pyrrha's sadness. She saw how Weiss and Velvet had failed, so she had to make sure that she wouldn't.

The two girls climbed inside the climbing frame and took refuge inside a shadowy room, with small beams of light trickling in from the gaps above. They both sat down and put their soles together. Coco then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small scarf; one big enough to sport Coco. But she didn't want to sport it. Instead, she decided to stretch the scarf out as long as it could and wrap herself and Pyrrha around the neck. With both girls stuck together with the scarf, Coco leaned over and gave Pyrrha a gentle hug.

"Mommy always called this the Cuddling Scarf. She used to do this all the time whenever I felt really sad about things." Coco explained as she patted Pyrrha on the back. "Mommy always told me that it works for everything. For boo-boos, tantrums, tears, even for poutiness!" She beamed. "Isn't it just so much fun to cuddle with me, Pyrrha?"

"It... is." Pyrrha smiled and hugged Coco back. She did have to admit, her friends were trying everything to make her feel better in these weird times, where she couldn't figure out why she was being so pouty. Though most of the others hadn't worked in getting rid of her poutiness, they had at least made her smile a couple of times. Those smiles were making her believe more and more that her poutiness could be fixed and that she could in fact get over this. She might even have figured out what made her so pouty in the first place.

Coco smiled as well. This was actually working. Her Cuddling Scarf was actually doing the trick in getting rid of Pyrrha's poutiness. She just kept on hugging and hugging, feeling Pyrrha reciprocate such affection. She watched Pyrrha close her eyes, so she closed her eyes as well and just let their bodies do the rest of the work. Even with the laughter and merriment of the other children going on outside, both girls sank into a state of serenity. One that wouldn't break so easily.

That was until at last, Pyrrha broke out of the Cuddling Scarf and looked outside at everyone else having fun. It started to make her feel a little bit left out. Left out and worried, worried that her poutiness would ruin all of their fun. She didn't want to feel guilty for doing such a thing; especially since she had made Velvet cry with her idea failing. A sigh escaped Pyrrha's mouth and she looked back at Coco. "Coco? Why do people get pouty?"

"Hmm..." Coco crawled forward. "Mommy always told me that pouty people are pouty because something bad happened to them. Something that made them feel really sad." She laid a hand on Pyrrha's shoulders. "So, did you have a boo-boo recently, Pyrrha? Or did someone be a super-meanie to you? Or maybe you lost something?"

"I didn't get any boo-boos and nobody was mean to me." Pyrrha explained. "Maybe I _did_ lose something, but I can't remember what."

"Maybe we can help you find it," Coco remarked. "There's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen of us, Pyrrha." She counted each of the children using her fingers. "We'll find whatever you lost really easily!"

"You think so?" Pyrrha asked.

"I know so." Coco nodded. "Now come on! Let's go!" And with not another word, she tucked the Cuddling Scarf away and dashed out to the playground with Pyrrha, hoping that they would be able to find whatever Pyrrha may or may not have lost.

Then, all of a sudden, Yang jumped in the way of both of the kids. "Hey! I've got a great idea on how to cheer Pyrrha up!" She said, and then she punched around at the air. "Whenever I feel sad, I do what I always do to feel better, beat stuff u—"

"No, Yang!" Coco caught Yang's fist and watched as her eyes widened. It was then that she let go of said hand. "We've found out what's making Pyrrha so sad. She lost something. But we don't know what."

"Mmhmm." Pyrrha gave a nod. "Now, I just need to remember _what_ I lost."

"I've got an idea that might help." Yang tipped a hand. "All we need to do to help you find what you lost is—"

"Does it involve punching things until you remember?" Pyrrha lifted an eyebrow.

"Uh... well..." Yang blushed and sheepishly backed up. "Y-yeah."

"Well, you're welcome to help us find whatever it is that Pyrrha lost, Yang." Coco waddled over and held Yang's arm. "The more of us look for it, the faster we'll find it, and the faster that Pyrrha will stop being pouty."

"Sure! I can go get everyone else to help too! I can even get Ozzie and Glyndie working on it too!" And without another word, Yang sped off around the playground to rally everyone.

Pyrrha felt happier already, to know that everyone was on the lookout for whatever it was that she lost. And now that she was happy about it, she was able to remember slightly what it was she lost. Something that lingered in the back of her mind that was starting to reappear with her restored morale. She turned and watched as Yang started telling everyone in the pre-school about Pyrrha's missing item. She went around interrupting everyone's games, then finally came to Ozpin and Glynda with everyone by her side. She explained Pyrrha's case to Ozpin and Glynda and, at long last, the whole group came to the door that lead back inside, corralling Pyrrha and Coco along with them.

"Well, I'm so glad that you've been able to figure out exactly what's making you sad, Pyrrha. And trust me. We'll do everything that we can to find whatever it was that made you feel so down in the dumps." Ozpin squatted down and tousled Pyrrha's red hair gently.

"But first, I'm sure that you need something uplifting to send you off to sleep with a smile. So that's why it's time for a little story. For you and all the others." Glynda added as she opened the door wide, letting the class waltz back inside one after the other. Once all of the kids were inside, the two teachers came back inside and closed up the door. "Speaking of which, I think I have just the story to read for you all today..."

* * *

From there, the children had all been told the story of Sugalite's Secret Stash. A very alliterative story about a little girl who stumbled upon a stash, was afraid to tell people about it, and eventually ended up losing her stash, but couldn't bear to tell other people without letting them see the things that she had been working so hard to keep safe, eventually ending with everyone in the town enjoying her stuff and equally sharing it out with everyone; including Sugalite herself. It was topical to Pyrrha losing her item, and it had given her time to think about what exactly she could have lost since she woke up, came to pre-school, and came to this juncture in time.

After that story had been said and done, the children had all been set up for another nap together with their favourite Cuddle Buddies. Laying down their heads on the pillows and being tucked underneath their blankets, they each gave the plushies a gentle cuddle and felt their eyelids getting heavy. Pyrrha did the same, as she held her lion close to her chest, thinking about the story of Sugalite. If she had lost and eventually found what she had lost, then she was sure that she would be able to find out what she had lost as well. And with that, she started to dream. To dream about her finding what she had found out of everything.

As she slept and dreamed, the other kids woke up one after the other and quietly went off to find things around the classroom in the hope of finding something that might have been lost by Pyrrha. She also spent the time in her dream to have some fun, as she imagined her and all of her friends going on the hunt for what it was, which then manifested them in her dream. As well as that, she also watched as her Cuddle Buddy leapt out of her hands and started to move about on its' own. It couldn't talk, but it was still just as actively moving as Pyrrha and the rest of her friends.

Pyrrha giggled with all of the joy that she could muster up. Her dream world was far different to the real world. Here, she wasn't as pouty; wasn't as sad. Especially since the world was all just clay in her hands. She could magically manifest anything her little mind could come up with. And if there were any obstacles, she could just get rid of them with her head. Waddling along with her friends hand in hand, Pyrrha lead the search party, with her lion stuffie stepping forward with her, its' stumpy little limbs moving along like actual legs.

"Now, where could it be?" Pyrrha asked as she looked around the makeshift world of her dreams. Everywhere she looked, she could see toys, jewellery, and other such pretty things. The kind of stuff that Pyrrha and other little girls her age liked to play with and hold near and dear to their hearts at her age. In a place like this, she would be sure to find what she was looking for. Toy chests could be seen over the horizon; ones that the other kids were hurrying off to open delightedly. "Maybe in one of these?" And Pyrrha ran over towards one of the unoccupied chests, with her lion plushie chasing after her.

Pyrrha groaned and strained as she pulled up the lid of the chest, revealing a bunch of toys and accessories inside. All of them chosen specifically for Pyrrha and for little girls in general. She leaned over and started to rake through the toys in the chest to see what she had lost. As she did so, the sentient lion plushie also hopped up and started to dig through without saying anything. It pulled the things apart to get deeper and deeper down into the toy chest. Pyrrha watched it burrow underneath and tried to follow after it with her hands. Seconds later, the lion came back with something. A small, plastic pearl necklace.

"Aww, thankies, Mr. Lion. But that's not what I'm looking for." Pyrrha shook her head at the living lion toy and watched as the lion tossed the necklace gently back onto the pile and dug under the toys once again, rummaging around on the bottom, making the toys shuffle and shake around on the upper layers. Pyrrha used her hands and pulled the things apart on the upper layers, in the hope that maybe what she had lost was on top. She raked through more kids' accessories, more stuffed animals and other toys, and many, many other colourful things and clothes. But nothing from there was coming into her mind about what she had lost; even though it did make her happy.

"Pyrrha! Pyrrha!" Ruby came running over with something in her hands. Sure enough, there were some cookies. But more specially, they were Pyrrha's favourite brand of cookies; 'Butterscotch Plait,' the kind of things that only the rarest kids got to eat. "Looky! I got cookies for you!"

"Thanks, Ruby." Pyrrha picked one of the cookies up and nibbled away, cooing as she dream-ate the dream-cookies. It wasn't what she was looking for, but it was a nice thought to have Ruby bringing her her favourite cookies. Eventually, after finishing the cookie, she stood politely. "It's not what I lost, but thank you anyways." She gave Ruby a tight hug.

"Pyrrha! Pyrrha!" Weiss came running over, with a little paper flower that had been cut out of a piece of paper and doodled over. It was the kind of doodles that only Pyrrha could make. Maybe she had lost this flower in the middle of one of her arts and crafts sessions? Or maybe she had made it and it had been put up on the wall, but it had gotten lost another day. She hadn't seen the flower before, so couldn't remember it properly.

"Thanks for the flower, Weiss." Pyrrha took the flower and held it up in her hands, trying to see if there was anything that she could remember of it. Nothing came to mind, but she could at least appreciate Weiss trying to give her a gift to make her feel better.

"Pyrrha! Look!" Both Blake and Coco came running over wearing things over them. Blake had a pink blanket over her head and Coco was wearing her Cuddling Scarf, along with a red and gold-patterned jumper. Something that seemed like it was something that would have belonged in Pyrrha's wardrobe.

"Ooh..." Pyrrha looked at the blanket and the clothes, taking them off of Blake and Coco's hands. She pressed the clothes against her face, feeling the fuzziness brush against her clothes. Maybe she had lost a blanket or some clothes along the way? It did seem like they were the kinds of things that she would wear. She looked back at Blake and Coco, and handed them back the clothes. Nope. These weren't what she had lost. She didn't need to remember her clothes. No matter what she wore, she was always chipper as a chipmunk.

"Pyrrha! Look at us!" Nora called from afar, and when Pyrrha turned to see what it was, both Nora and Yang were bouncing around on shoes with special springs attached to the bottom, enabling them to jump incredibly high. Much higher than any of the two of them were used to. They bounced over to her and tried to stop moving, but every time their feet hit the ground, Nora and Yang just launched up high again. Pyrrha eventually caught both of the girls as they came falling to the ground, putting all three of them into a heap.

"Oof..." Pyrrha's eyes had swirls in them as she got back onto her foot again. "Nora, Yang, what are those?"

"Bouncy-bounce shoes!" Nora threw her arms out in glee. "Mommy and daddy always wanted to get me these shoes, but they always ran out of money!"

"And I wanna jump around like Nora can!" Yang sniggered as she started to jump up and down again on the spring-mounted shoes. She gained a lot of height with each bounce, and eventually bounced so high that she became a tiny dot at max altitude. Or at least, that was how Pyrrha perceived her in relation to where she was standing.

"Well, that's funny, girls. But I didn't lose those things. I don't even own a pair of bouncy-bounce shoes." Pyrrha explained as Yang finally came crashing down to the ground again.

"What about these?" Velvet, Penny, and Yatsu all asked together as they held up some more stuffed animals; all of which were just as sentient as the lion that was travelling by Pyrrha's side. They made gentle little waving motions with their limbs to greet her, without the three kids needing to do or say anything.

"You like stuffed animals, so we thought that you must have lost one of them one day," Penny explained as she held the plushie fish towards Pyrrha. "Maybe this'll cure your poutiness."

"And if it doesn't, then you can always make some new friends out of these widdle things." Velvet said as she handed over the small, cuddly soft toy bunny in her hands to Pyrrha, who took it and felt as it nuzzled her neck. "Aww... looks like he likes you already."

"Hey! Don't forget about Mr. Zilla!" Yatsu said as he handed over what looked like a tall dinosaur plushie, with foamy spines on its' back and tail, which were all painted cyan as opposed to the rest of its' grey body. Once he finished talking, the plushie tried its' best to make a roar, but it could only look towards the sky and waggle around its' plush arms.

"Aww... They all look so cute, don't they?" Pyrrha fawned over the living toys, watching as they all looked back up into her eyes. As she held them close, the lion plushie on her shoulder hung its' head and was about to jump off when Pyrrha caught it and brought it in with the other toys. "Oh, don't worry, Mr. Lion. I still love you the best out of everyone. C'mere, you..." And she brought the lion up to her face where she gave it a big kiss on the cheek.

"Pyrrha? What about these?" said Jaune, as he, Ren, and Fox delivered more items to Pyrrha. In Ren's hand, there was a small box. In Jaune's, there were a toy sword and shield, and in Jaune's, there was a pair of bracelets. All of them were coloured red and gold, and had motifs to Pyrrha's dress sense and hairstyle.

Pyrrha let out a gasp. These items. All of them screamed like they belonged to her, but only one of them she could finally remember. She could only hope that it was in the box that Jaune was holding. She waddled up, opened the lid of the box wide, then exclaimed with glee. "There it is!" Inside the box, there was a red hairclip with a golden sun; the special one that her mother had given to her. She pulled the hair clip out of the box and stuffed it into her hair. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jaune!" Pyrrha gave Jaune the biggest hug her little body could.

"You're welcome, Pyrrha." Jaune dropped the box and hugged Pyrrha tightly.

As Pyrrha wore her lost hairclip in her hair and cuddled with Jaune, she could hear the cheers and elation of the rest of her classmates all around her, echoing around. She felt the comfort of Mr. Lion on her shoulder giving her his own form of a hug and finally felt like her poutiness was long gone. And then, she woke up. She lifted her head off of the pillow, looked around, and saw that the rest of the kids were still looking around for her missing item. Moaning calmly, Pyrrha clambered out of the bed, letting the covers fall down and bury her lion plushie. Pyrrha came out of the Sleep Spot and walked up to the others.

"I've got it!" Pyrrha proclaimed, pulling everyone from their little search. They all turned their beady eyes towards her. "I know what went missing! My super-duper special hair clip!"

"You figured it out?" Nora tilted her head. "What is it?"

"My special hairclip!" Pyrrha threw her hands up. "I was looking all over for it, and mommy didn't tell me where it was!" She looked back over towards the cubbies and dashed off as fast as she could to her box. She picked up her bag and opened it up. She fished her hand deep into the bag and felt something that was shaped like a box. Picking it out, it was the same box that she had seen in her dream and, sure enough, when she opened it up, there it was. Her hairclip. Squealing, she stuck it into her hair and twirled with it. "There you are..."

"Does... does this mean you're not pouty anymore?" Ruby asked, taking a few steps towards Pyrrha. "You can be happy again?"

As soon as Ruby said that, Pyrrha made a cheeky smirk and lunged for Ruby. And in doing so, she caught ahold of Ruby's cheeks and started to fiddle around with them, giggling all the while as she pulled them out, smooshed them in, rubbed them around, and basically played with Ruby's face as a whole. "Chubby-Wubby!" She exclaimed, which prompted Ruby to laugh as well.

"Yay! Pyrrha's back to normal!" Ruby said in between giggles and Pyrrha's facial reconstruction.

And for the first time that day, Pyrrha felt like she was on top of the world. Her pouting spell had come and gone and now she could really cut loose and enjoy herself. As she continued to play and show her delight, the other children joined in, playing around with her own face and then all of their others. Indeed, the whole pre-school was enraptured in the game of Chubby-Wubby as a way to celebrate cheering Pyrrha up again. And play they did. All the way until the end of the day...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS TOOK TO UPDATE!


End file.
